A Suspended Nanogap Formed by Field-Induced Atomically Sharp Tips

A sub-nanometer scale suspended gap (nanogap) defined by electric field-induced atomically sharp metallic tips is presented. A strong local electric field (\u3e109 V=m) across micro/nanomachined tips facing each other causes the metal ion migration in the form of dendrite-like growth at the cathode. The nanogap is fully isolated from the substrate eliminating growth mechanisms that involve substrate interactions. The proposed mechanism of ion transportation is verified using real-time imaging of the metal ion transportation using an in situ biasing in transmission electron microscope (TEM). The configuration of the micro/nanomachined suspended tips allows nanostructure growth of a wide variety of materials including metals, metal-oxides, and polymers. VC 2012 American Institute of Physics

The Detection Data Processing Mechanism for Vehicular Cyber Physical System in IoT Environment

With the development of the Internet of Things and big data technology, it was easy to collect personal situation information. The information collected in this way requires the user to support customized services via big data technology. However, traditional situational awareness systems request action through user cognition or provide consistent services for the specific purposes of multiple users. Therefore, this paper proposes a mechanism of Vehicular CPS with situational cognitive function that minimizes direct user intervention for user customization services. In this paper, we designed the system configuration and detailed process based on the scenario of the situation where the user is driving a car. A vector is used to provide a method for determining a dangerous water level by analyzing an abnormal state of a reception threshold with a sensor. The proposed system was analyzed by simulation. By using the authorization step that operates based on the sensor data, we were able to know that the reliability of the user is improved and that the reliable processing of the IoT service is possible. In the future, research for personal authentication and encryption is needed for more secure information processing

Bacterial strategies along nutrient and time gradients, revealed by metagenomic analysis of laboratory microcosms

There is considerable interest in the functional basis of ecological strategies amongst bacteria. We used laboratory microcosms based on culturing of elutant from soil, to study the effects of varying initial nutrient concentration, and time succession, on the community metagenome. We found a distinct set of nutrient related or time related changes in the functional metagenome. For example a high nutrient (copiotrophic) strategy was associated with greater abundance of genes related to cell division and cell cycle, while a low nutrient (oligotrophic) strategy had greater abundance of genes related to carbohydrate metabolism and virulence, disease and defense. We also found time related changes in the functional metagenome, revealing a distinct ‘r’ related strategy with greater abundance of genes related to regulation and cell signaling, and a ‘K’ strategy rich in motility and chemotaxis related genes. These different gene-based strategies may help to explain how so many bacterial OTUs coexist in nature, and the functional principles dominating natural communities. In terms of diversity, both the OTU richness and the richness of species assignment of functional genes showed linear correlations with functional gene richness, supporting the hypothesis that greater taxonomic diversity is associated with greater functional diversity, with possible implications for ecosystem stability

Sex- and Age-Related Changes in Connexin 43 Expression in Normal Rat Bladder

Purpose Gap junctions are intercellular channels to facilitate electrical and metabolic communication between adjacent cells. Connexin 43 is the most predominant type of connexin expressed on rat detrusor muscle cells. We investigated the connexin 43 expressions in various age groups of either sex in normal rats. Methods Eighty Sprague-Dawley rats were used for analysis. Each group was quantified by 8 rats at 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months of age in either sex. In each animal, bladder was removed without any kind of intervention and fresh-frozen in liquid nitrogen. Total RNA extraction was done with easy-BLUE total RNA extraction kit. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was done for connexin 43 and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase as an internal control using ImProm-II Reverse Transcription System. Results In female rats, no age-related change was detected in connexin 43 expressions. In male rats, connexin expression at 3 months of age showed significant decrease compared with 1 week, 2 weeks, and 6 months of age (P<0.05). When connexin expression at the same age in male and female were compared, only 3 months group in male showed significant decrease than the same age group in female. Conclusions Our data suggest that the expressions of connexin 43 mRNA in normal detrusor muscle cell showed age-related changes especially in male rats. Although it is difficult to interpret these findings at this stage, age should be considered as a possible compounding factor affecting connexin 43 expressions in male rats

Mobile Curated News Readers’ Intention to Read Full-length Articles: Focusing on Heuristic and Systematic Factors

Background: Mobile curated (shortened) news is now increasingly popular. Each curated news article is accompanied by a link that readers can click to read the full-length article on the news provider’s website. To date, little empirical research has examined the factors that influence mobile newsreaders’ intentions to read full-length articles from their curated short forms. To address this gap, this study employs the Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM) of information processing and examines: 1) how the heuristic and systematic factors of online curated news influence newsreaders’ intention to read full-length articles; and 2) how newsreaders’ language proficiency levels moderate these effects. Method: A survey was conducted with 195 participants recruited from Amazon MTurk. The participants first read a sample curated news item developed for this study and then filled out the questionnaire to measure the variables of interest. To test the hypotheses, a partial least square method was used with SmartPLS 4.0. Results: Our results showed that people have stronger intentions to read full-length articles when they perceive the curated news to have highly relevant information, an attractive title, a credible source, or less understandable information. Furthermore, newsreaders\u27 language proficiency level has a moderating impact on some of these effects. The effects of these factors can be attributed to how they influence newsreaders’ reading behaviors and their heuristic or systematic processing of the curated news. Conclusion: The curated news can be properly designed to motivate newsreaders’ intention to read full-length articles. The findings contribute to the body of knowledge on HSM and mobile news adoption. The findings also provide mobile-curated news service providers and online full-length news media platforms with valuable practical implications

Staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization in a community-based population : a potential role in adult-onset asthma

Background: Recent studies suggest that Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin sensitization is a risk factor for asthma. However, there is a paucity of epidemiologic evidence on adult-onset asthma in community-based populations. Objective: We sought to evaluate the epidemiology and the clinical significance of staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization in community-based adult populations. Methods: The present analyses were performed using the baseline data set of Korean adult population surveys, consisting of 1080 adults (mean age=60.2years) recruited from an urban and a rural community. Questionnaires, methacholine challenge tests, and allergen skin tests were performed for defining clinical phenotypes. Sera were analysed for total IgE and enterotoxin-specific IgE using ImmunoCAP. Results: Staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization (0.35kU/L) had a prevalence of 27.0%. Risk factors were identified as male sex, current smoking, advanced age (61years), and inhalant allergen sensitization. Current asthma was mostly adult onset (18years old) and showed independent associations with high enterotoxin-specific IgE levels in multivariate logistic regression tests. In multivariate linear regressions, staphylococcal enterotoxin-specific IgE level was identified as the major determinant factor for total IgE level. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization was independently associated with adult-onset asthma in adult community populations. Strong correlations between the enterotoxin-specific IgE and total IgE levels support the clinical significance. The present findings warrant further studies for the precise roles of staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization in the asthma pathogenesis