High precision pressure sensors based on SAW devices in the GHz range

In this paper, an AlN/free-standing nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) system is proposed in order to process high frequency surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators for sensing applications. The main problem of synthetic diamond is its high surface roughness that worsens the sputtered AlN quality and hence the device response. In order to study the feasibility of this structure, AlN films from 150 nm up to 1200 nm thick have been deposited on free-standing NCD. We have then analysed the influence of the AlN layer thickness on its crystal quality and device response. Optimized thin films of 300 nm have been used to fabricate of one-port SAW resonators operating in the 10–14 GHz frequency range. A SAW based sensor pressure with a sensibility of 0.33 MHz/bar has been fabricated

A retrospective claims analysis of combination therapy in the treatment of adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Combination therapy in managing psychiatric disorders is not uncommon. While combination therapy has been documented for depression and schizophrenia, little is known about combination therapy practices in managing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study seeks to quantify the combination use of ADHD medications and to understand predictors of combination therapy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Prescription dispensing events were drawn from a U.S. national claims database including over 80 managed-care plans. Patients studied were age 18 or over with at least 1 medical claim with a diagnosis of ADHD (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification [ICD-9-CM] code 314.0), a pharmacy claim for ADHD medication during the study period July2003 to June2004, and continuous enrollment 6 months prior to and throughout the study period. Dispensing events were grouped into 6 categories: atomoxetine (ATX), long-acting stimulants (LAS), intermediate-acting stimulants (IAS), short-acting stimulants (SAS), bupropion (BUP), and Alpha-2 Adrenergic Agonists (A2A). Events were assigned to calendar months, and months with combined use from multiple categories within patient were identified. Predictors of combination therapy for LAS and for ATX were modeled for patients covered by commercial plans using logistic regression in a generalized estimating equations framework to adjust for within-patient correlation between months of observation. Factors included age, gender, presence of the hyperactive component of ADHD, prior diagnoses for psychiatric disorders, claims history of recent psychiatric visit, insurance plan type, and geographic region.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were 18,609 patients identified representing a total of 11,886 months of therapy with ATX; 40,949 months with LAS; 13,622 months with IAS; 38,141 months with SAS; 22,087 months with BUP; and 1,916 months with A2A. Combination therapy was present in 19.7% of continuing months (months after the first month of therapy) for ATX, 21.0% for LAS, 27.4% for IAS, 23.1% for SAS, 36.9% for BUP, and 53.0% for A2A.</p> <p>For patients receiving LAS, being age 25–44 or age 45 and older versus being 18–24 years old, seeing a psychiatrist, having comorbid depression, or having point-of-service coverage versus a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) resulted in odds ratios significantly greater than 1, representing increased likelihood for combination therapy in managing adult ADHD.</p> <p>For patients receiving ATX, being age 25–44 or age 45 and older versus being 18–24 years old, seeing a psychiatrist, having a hyperactive component to ADHD, or having comorbid depression resulted in odds ratios significantly greater than 1, representing increased likelihood for combination therapy in managing adult ADHD.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>ATX and LAS are the most likely drugs to be used as monotherapy. Factors predicting combination use were similar for months in which ATX was used and for months in which LAS was used except that a hyperactive component to ADHD predicted increased combination use for ATX but not for LAS.</p

Modulation of ATP/ADP Concentration at the Endothelial Cell Surface by Flow: Effect of Cell Topography

Determining how flow affects the concentration of the adenine nucleotides ATP and ADP at the vascular endothelial cell (EC) surface is essential for understanding flow-induced mobilization of intracellular calcium. Previously, mathematical models were formulated to describe the ATP/ADP concentration at the EC surface; however, all previous models assumed the endothelium to be flat. In the present study we investigate the effect of surface undulations on ATP/ADP concentration at the EC surface. The results demonstrate that under certain geometric and flow conditions, the ATP + ADP concentration at the EC surface is considerably lower for a wavy cell surface than for a flat surface. Because ECs in regions of disturbed arterial flow are expected to have larger undulations than cells in non-disturbed flow zones, our findings suggest that ECs in regions of flow disturbance would exhibit lower ATP + ADP concentrations at their surfaces, which may lead to impaired calcium signaling. If validated experimentally, the present results may contribute to our understanding of endothelial cell dysfunction observed in regions of disturbed flow

A Study of Cosmic Ray Secondaries Induced by the Mir Space Station Using AMS-01

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) is a high energy particle physics experiment that will study cosmic rays in the $\sim 100 \mathrm{MeV}$ to $1 \mathrm{TeV}$ range and will be installed on the International Space Station (ISS) for at least 3 years. A first version of AMS-02, AMS-01, flew aboard the space shuttle \emph{Discovery} from June 2 to June 12, 1998, and collected $10^8$ cosmic ray triggers. Part of the \emph{Mir} space station was within the AMS-01 field of view during the four day \emph{Mir} docking phase of this flight. We have reconstructed an image of this part of the \emph{Mir} space station using secondary $\pi^-$ and $\mu^-$ emissions from primary cosmic rays interacting with \emph{Mir}. This is the first time this reconstruction was performed in AMS-01, and it is important for understanding potential backgrounds during the 3 year AMS-02 mission.Comment: To be submitted to NIM B Added material requested by referee. Minor stylistic and grammer change

Isotopic Composition of Light Nuclei in Cosmic Rays: Results from AMS-01

The variety of isotopes in cosmic rays allows us to study different aspects of the processes that cosmic rays undergo between the time they are produced and the time of their arrival in the heliosphere. In this paper we present measurements of the isotopic ratios 2H/4He, 3He/4He, 6Li/7Li, 7Be/(9Be+10Be) and 10B/11B in the range 0.2-1.4 GeV of kinetic energy per nucleon. The measurements are based on the data collected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, AMS-01, during the STS-91 flight in 1998 June.Comment: To appear in ApJ. 12 pages, 11 figures, 6 table

Factors underlying age-related changes in discrete aiming

Age has a clear impact on one’s ability to make accurate goal-directed aiming movements. Older adults seem to plan slower and shorter-ranged initial pulses towards the target, and rely more on sensory feedback to ensure endpoint accuracy. Despite the fact that these age-related changes in manual aiming have been observed consistently, the underlying mechanism remains speculative. In an attempt to isolate four commonly suggested underlying factors, young and older adults were instructed to make discrete aiming movements under varying speed and accuracy constraints. Results showed that older adults were physically able to produce fast primary submovements and that they demonstrated similar movement-programming capacities as young adults. On the other hand, considerable evidence was found supporting a decreased visual feedback-processing efficiency and the implementation of a play-it-safe strategy in older age. In conclusion, a combination of the latter two factors seems to underlie the age-related changes in manual aiming behaviour

Mapping Migratory Bird Prevalence Using Remote Sensing Data Fusion

This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the Public Library of Science and can be found at: http://www.plosone.org/home.action.Background: Improved maps of species distributions are important for effective management of wildlife under increasing anthropogenic pressures. Recent advances in lidar and radar remote sensing have shown considerable potential for mapping forest structure and habitat characteristics across landscapes. However, their relative efficacies and integrated use in habitat mapping remain largely unexplored. We evaluated the use of lidar, radar and multispectral remote sensing data in predicting multi-year bird detections or prevalence for 8 migratory songbird species in the unfragmented temperate deciduous forests of New Hampshire, USA. \ud \ud Methodology and Principal Findings: A set of 104 predictor variables describing vegetation vertical structure and variability from lidar, phenology from multispectral data and backscatter properties from radar data were derived. We tested the accuracies of these variables in predicting prevalence using Random Forests regression models. All data sets showed more than 30% predictive power with radar models having the lowest and multi-sensor synergy ("fusion") models having highest accuracies. Fusion explained between 54% and 75% variance in prevalence for all the birds considered. Stem density from discrete return lidar and phenology from multispectral data were among the best predictors. Further analysis revealed different relationships between the remote sensing metrics and bird prevalence. Spatial maps of prevalence were consistent with known habitat preferences for the bird species. \ud \ud Conclusion and Significance: Our results highlight the potential of integrating multiple remote sensing data sets using machine-learning methods to improve habitat mapping. Multi-dimensional habitat structure maps such as those generated from this study can significantly advance forest management and ecological research by facilitating fine-scale studies at both stand and landscape level

NOV/CCN3 attenuates inflammatory pain through regulation of matrix metalloproteinases-2 and -9

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sustained neuroinflammation strongly contributes to the pathogenesis of pain. The clinical challenge of chronic pain relief led to the identification of molecules such as cytokines, chemokines and more recently matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) as putative therapeutic targets. Evidence points to a founder member of the matricial CCN family, NOV/CCN3, as a modulator of these inflammatory mediators. We thus investigated the possible involvement of NOV in a preclinical model of persistent inflammatory pain.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used the complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced model of persistent inflammatory pain and cultured primary sensory neurons for <it>in vitro </it>experiments. The mRNA expression of NOV and pro-inflammatory factors were measured with real-time quantitative PCR, CCL2 protein expression was assessed using ELISA, MMP-2 and -9 activities using zymography. The effect of drugs on tactile allodynia was evaluated by the von Frey test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>NOV was expressed in neurons of both dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and dorsal horn of the spinal cord (DHSC). After intraplantar CFA injection, NOV levels were transiently and persistently down-regulated in the DRG and DHSC, respectively, occurring at the maintenance phase of pain (15 days). NOV-reduced expression was restored after treatment of CFA rats with dexamethasone. <it>In vitro</it>, results based on cultured DRG neurons showed that siRNA-mediated inhibition of NOV enhanced IL-1β- and TNF-α-induced MMP-2, MMP-9 and CCL2 expression whereas NOV addition inhibited TNF-α-induced MMP-9 expression through β₁integrin engagement. <it>In vivo</it>, the intrathecal delivery of MMP-9 inhibitor attenuated mechanical allodynia of CFA rats. Importantly, intrathecal administration of NOV siRNA specifically led to an up-regulation of MMP-9 in the DRG and MMP-2 in the DHSC concomitant with increased mechanical allodynia. Finally, NOV intrathecal treatment specifically abolished the induction of MMP-9 in the DRG and, MMP-9 and MMP-2 in the DHSC of CFA rats. This inhibitory effect on MMP is associated with reduced mechanical allodynia.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study identifies NOV as a new actor against inflammatory pain through regulation of MMPs thus uncovering NOV as an attractive candidate for therapeutic improvement in pain relief.</p

A meta-analysis of GFR slope as a surrogate endpoint for kidney failure

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) decline is causally associated with kidney failure and is a candidate surrogate endpoint for clinical trials of chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression. Analyses across a diverse spectrum of interventions and populations is required for acceptance of GFR decline as an endpoint. In an analysis of individual participant data, for each of 66 studies (total of 186,312 participants), we estimated treatment effects on the total GFR slope, computed from baseline to 3 years, and chronic slope, starting at 3 months after randomization, and on the clinical endpoint (doubling of serum creatinine, GFR < 15 ml min−1 per 1.73 m2 or kidney failure with replacement therapy). We used a Bayesian mixed-effects meta-regression model to relate treatment effects on GFR slope with those on the clinical endpoint across all studies and by disease groups (diabetes, glomerular diseases, CKD or cardiovascular diseases). Treatment effects on the clinical endpoint were strongly associated with treatment effects on total slope (median coefficient of determination (R2) = 0.97 (95% Bayesian credible interval (BCI) 0.82–1.00)) and moderately associated with those on chronic slope (R2 = 0.55 (95% BCI 0.25–0.77)). There was no evidence of heterogeneity across disease. Our results support the use of total slope as a primary endpoint for clinical trials of CKD progression