Development of three types of flat flexible conductors Final report, Aug. 1963 - Feb. 1964

Material properties, shielding, and coatings examined in development of flat flexible conductor cable

Staphylococcus aureus nasal and pharyngeal carriage in Senegal

AbstractNasal and pharyngeal swabs were collected from 132 patients admitted to the Principal Hospital in Dakar (Senegal), in January and February 2012. The prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus carriage was 56.1% (n = 74): 40.2% for pharyngeal samples and 36.4% for nasal samples. None of the isolates was methicillin-resistant. Carriage was independently associated with being female (p <0.01) and large households (≥15 members) (p 0.04). The luk-PV genes encoding Panton–Valentine leukocidin (PVL) were present in 26.2% of the isolates. These data highlight the importance of the oropharynx as a site of colonization, and the high prevalence of PVL-positive isolates in Senegal as compared with industrialized countries

Blood pressure and metabolic effects of acetyl-L-carnitine in type 2 diabetes: DIABASI randomized controlled trial

Context: Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC), a mitochondrial carrier involved in lipid oxidation and glucose metabolism, decreased systolic blood pressure (SBP), and ameliorated insulin sensitivity in hypertensive nondiabetic subjects at high cardiovascular risk. Objective: To assess the effects of ALC on SBP and glycemic and lipid control in patients with hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), and dyslipidemia on background statin therapy. Design: After 4-week run-in period and stratification according to previous statin therapy, patients were randomized to 6-month, double-blind treatment with ALC or placebo added-on simvastatin. Setting: Five diabetology units and one clinical research center in Italy. Patients: Two hundred twenty-nine patients with hypertension and dyslipidemic T2D &gt; 40 years with stable background antihypertensive, hypoglycemic, and statin therapy and serum creatinine &lt; 1.5 mg/ dL. Interventions: Oral ALC 1000 mg or placebo twice daily on top of stable simvastatin therapy. Outcome and Measures: Primary outcome was SBP. Secondary outcomes included lipid and glycemic profiles. Total-body glucose disposal rate and glomerular filtration rate were measured in subgroups by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp and iohexol plasma clearance, respectively. Results: SBP did not significantly change after 6-month treatment with ALC compared with placebo (-2.09mmHg vs-3.57mmHg, P = 0.9539). Serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and lipoprotein(a), as well as blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, fasting insulin levels, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance index, glucose disposal rate, and glomerular filtration rate did not significantly differ between treatments. Adverse events were comparable between groups. Conclusions: Six-month oral ALC supplementation did not affect blood pressure, lipid and glycemic control, insulin sensitivity and kidney function in hypertensive normoalbuminuric and microalbuminuric T2D patients on background statin therapy

Spintronics: Fundamentals and applications

Spintronics, or spin electronics, involves the study of active control and manipulation of spin degrees of freedom in solid-state systems. This article reviews the current status of this subject, including both recent advances and well-established results. The primary focus is on the basic physical principles underlying the generation of carrier spin polarization, spin dynamics, and spin-polarized transport in semiconductors and metals. Spin transport differs from charge transport in that spin is a nonconserved quantity in solids due to spin-orbit and hyperfine coupling. The authors discuss in detail spin decoherence mechanisms in metals and semiconductors. Various theories of spin injection and spin-polarized transport are applied to hybrid structures relevant to spin-based devices and fundamental studies of materials properties. Experimental work is reviewed with the emphasis on projected applications, in which external electric and magnetic fields and illumination by light will be used to control spin and charge dynamics to create new functionalities not feasible or ineffective with conventional electronics.Comment: invited review, 36 figures, 900+ references; minor stylistic changes from the published versio