Novel Reproductive Behavior in an Asian Frog: Sex‐Reversed Inguinal Amplexus

Amphibians exhibit diverse reproductive behaviors, including nine documented types of amplexus, the behavior in which male and female frogs position themselves for courtship, oviposition, and fertilization. All known forms of amplexus involve the male on top of or in line horizontally (cloacal apposition) with the female. Here, we report a novel form of amplexus observed in Lau’s leaf litter toad (Leptobrachella laui; Megophryidae) in Hong Kong, China. Termed “sex‐reversed inguinal amplexus,” the female climbs on top of a male and the male transports the female to a concealed breeding site. We were unable to determine whether this was the amplectant position in which frogs engaged during oviposition or solely during courtship and prior to oviposition, but there are a number of possible evolutionary drivers that may have given rise to this behavior, including limiting suitable oviposition sites or strong competition for males among females. Further research will be necessary to understand the evolutionary origins of this novel reproductive behavior

External Use of Propolis for Oral, Skin, and Genital Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective. The aim of this review is to provide the available evidence on the external use of propolis (EUP) for oral, skin, and genital diseases. Method. We searched twelve electronic databases for relevant studies up to June 2016. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were included and analysed. Results. Of the 286 articles identified, twelve potentially relevant studies met our inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis of two studies on recurrent oral aphthae (ROA) indicated that there were no significant differences in total effective rate (TER) for pain disappearance between EUP and placebo groups (RR = 1.96, 95% CI = 0.97–3.98, and P=0.06). In two studies on skin diseases, the combined treatment of EUP with other interventions revealed significant effects on the duration of treatment or TER. In one study on genital diseases, EUP showed significant differences in genital herpes outcome measures compared to placebo. Conclusions. Our results on the effectiveness of EUP for treating oral, skin, and genital diseases are not conclusive because of the low methodological qualities and small sample sizes. Further well-designed randomized controlled trials, with high quality and large samples for specific disorders, must be conducted to obtain firm conclusions

Quantitative agreement of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions for domain-wall motion and spin-wave propagation

The magnetic exchange interaction is the one of the key factors governing the basic characteristics of magnetic systems. Unlike the symmetric nature of the Heisenberg exchange interaction, the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) generates an antisymmetric exchange interaction which offers challenging opportunities in spintronics with intriguing antisymmetric phenomena. The role of the DMI, however, is still being debated, largely because distinct strengths of DMI have been measured for different magnetic objects, particularly chiral magnetic domain walls (DWs) and non-reciprocal spin waves (SWs). In this paper, we show that, after careful data analysis, both the DWs and SWs experience the same strength of DMI. This was confirmed by spin-torque efficiency measurement for the DWs, and Brillouin light scattering measurement for the SWs. This observation, therefore, indicates the unique role of the DMI on the magnetic DW and SW dynamics and also guarantees the compatibility of several DMI-measurement schemes recently proposed.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figure

In-situ fabrication of cobalt-doped SrFe2As2 thin films by using pulsed laser deposition with excimer laser

The remarkably high superconducting transition temperature and upper critical field of iron(Fe)-based layered superconductors, despite ferromagnetic material base, open the prospect for superconducting electronics. However, success in superconducting electronics has been limited because of difficulties in fabricating high-quality thin films. We report the growth of high-quality c-axis-oriented cobalt(Co)-doped SrFe2As2 thin films with bulk superconductivity by using an in-situ pulsed laser deposition technique with a 248-nm-wavelength KrF excimer laser and an arsenic(As)-rich phase target. The temperature and field dependences of the magnetization showing strong diamagnetism and transport critical current density with superior Jc-H performance are reported. These results provide necessary information for practical applications of Fe-based superconductors.Comment: 8 pages, 3figures. to be published at Appl. Phys. Let

X-ray: Discovering DRAM Internal Structure and Error Characteristics by Issuing Memory Commands

The demand for accurate information about the internal structure and characteristics of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) has been on the rise. Recent studies have explored the structure and characteristics of DRAM to improve processing in memory, enhance reliability, and mitigate a vulnerability known as rowhammer. However, DRAM manufacturers only disclose limited information through official documents, making it difficult to find specific information about actual DRAM devices. This paper presents reliable findings on the internal structure and characteristics of DRAM using activate-induced bitflips (AIBs), retention time test, and row-copy operation. While previous studies have attempted to understand the internal behaviors of DRAM devices, they have only shown results without identifying the causes or have analyzed DRAM modules rather than individual chips. We first uncover the size, structure, and operation of DRAM subarrays and verify our findings on the characteristics of DRAM. Then, we correct misunderstood information related to AIBs and demonstrate experimental results supporting the cause of rowhammer. We expect that the information we uncover about the structure, behavior, and characteristics of DRAM will help future DRAM research.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure