Low temperature mobility in hafnium-oxide gated germanium p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors

Effective mobility measurements have been made at 4.2 K on high performance high-k gated germanium p-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors with a range of Ge/gate dielectric interface state densities. The mobility is successfully modelled by assuming surface roughness and interface charge scattering at the SiO2 interlayer/Ge interface. The deduced interface charge density is approximately equal to the values obtained from the threshold voltage and subthreshold slope measurements on each device. A hydrogen anneal reduces both the interface state density and the surface root mean square roughness by 20%

Oct4/Sox2 binding sites contribute to maintaining hypomethylation of the maternal Igf2/H19 imprinting control region

A central question in genomic imprinting is how parental-specific DNA methylation of imprinting control regions (ICR) is established during gametogenesis and maintained after fertilization. At the imprinted Igf2/H19 locus, CTCF binding maintains the unmethylated state of the maternal ICR after the blastocyst stage. In addition, evidence from Beckwith-Wiedemann patients and cultured mouse cells suggests that two Sox-Oct binding motifs within the Igf2/H19 ICR also participate in maintaining hypomethylation of the maternal allele. We found that the Sox and octamer elements from both Sox-Oct motifs were required to drive hypomethylation of integrated transgenes in mouse embryonic carcinoma cells. Oct4 and Sox2 showed cooperative binding to the Sox-Oct motifs, and both were present at the endogenous ICR. Using a mouse with mutations in the Oct4 binding sites, we found that maternally transmitted mutant ICRs acquired partial methylation in somatic tissues, but there was little effect on imprinted expression of H19 and Igf2. A subset of mature oocytes also showed partial methylation of the mutant ICR, which suggested that the Sox-Oct motifs provide some protection from methylation during oogenesis. The Sox-Oct motifs, however, were not required for erasure of paternal methylation in primordial germ cells, which indicated that the oocyte methylation was acquired post-natally. Maternally inherited mutant ICRs were unmethylated in blastocysts, which suggested that at least a portion of the methylation in somatic tissues occurred after implantation. These findings provide evidence that Sox-Oct motifs contribute to ICR hypomethylation in post-implantation embryos and maturing oocytes and link imprinted DNA methylation with key stem cell/germline transcription factors

Knowledge and Awareness Among Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 3

Knowledge is a prerequisite for changing behavior, and is useful for improving outcomes and reducing mortality rates in patients diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The purpose of this article is to describe baseline CKD knowledge and awareness obtained as part of a larger study testing the feasibility of a self-management intervention. Thirty patients were recruited who had CKD Stage 3 with coexisting diabetes and hypertension. Fifty-four percent of the sample were unaware of their CKD diagnosis. Participants had a moderate amount of CKD knowledge. This study suggests the need to increase knowledge in patients with CKD Stage 3 to aid in slowing disease progression

Farm-Processed Soybeans in Swine Rations

New Equipment is available for processing soybeans into feed for pigs. The authors list some of the factors you should consider and results they obtained with feeding whole infrared roasted soybeans

A Well-Resolved Phylogeny of the Trees of Puerto Rico Based on DNA Barcode Sequence Data

Background: The use of phylogenetic information in community ecology and conservation has grown in recent years. Two key issues for community phylogenetics studies, however, are (i) low terminal phylogenetic resolution and (ii) arbitrarilydefined species pools. Methodology/principal findings: We used three DNA barcodes (plastid DNA regions rbcL, matK, and trnH-psbA) to infer a phylogeny for 527 native and naturalized trees of Puerto Rico, representing the vast majority of the entire tree flora of the island (89%). We used a maximum likelihood (ML) approach with and without a constraint tree that enforced monophyly of recognized plant orders. Based on 50% consensus trees, the ML analyses improved phylogenetic resolution relative to a comparable phylogeny generated with PHYLOMATIC (proportion of internal nodes resolved:constrained ML = 74%, unconstrained ML = 68%, PHYLOMATIC = 52%). We quantified the phylogenetic composition of 15 protected forests in Puerto Rico using the constrained ML and PHYLOMATIC phylogenies. We found some evidence that tree communities in areas of high water stress were relatively phylogenetically clustered. Reducing the scale at which the species pool was defined (from island to soil types) changed some of our results depending on which phylogeny (ML vs. PHYLOMATIC) was used. Overall, the increased terminal resolution provided by the ML phylogeny revealed additional patterns that were not observed with a less-resolved phylogeny. Conclusions/significance: With the DNA barcode phylogeny presented here (based on an island-wide species pool), we show that a more fully resolved phylogeny increases power to detect nonrandom patterns of community composition in several Puerto Rican tree communities. Especially if combined with additional information on species functional traits and geographic distributions, this phylogeny will (i) facilitate stronger inferences about the role of historical processes in governing the assembly and composition of Puerto Rican forests, (ii) provide insight into Caribbean biogeography, and (iii) aid in incorporating evolutionary history into conservation planning

Workforce Characteristics, Perceptions, Stress, and Satisfaction among Staff in Green House and Other Nursing Homes

OBJECTIVE: To compare workforce characteristics and staff perceptions of safety, satisfaction, and stress between Green House (GH) and comparison nursing homes (CNHs). DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Primary data on staff perceptions of safety, stress, and satisfaction from 13 GHs and 8 comparison NHs in 11 states; secondary data from human resources records on workforce characteristics, turnover, and staffing from 01/01/2011-06/30/2012. STUDY DESIGN: Observational study. DATA COLLECTION METHODS: Workforce data were from human resources offices; staff perceptions were from surveys. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Few significant differences were found between GH and CNHs. Exceptions were GH direct caregivers were older, provided twice the normalized hours per week budgeted per resident than CNAs in CNHs or Legacy NHs, and trended toward lower turnover. CONCLUSIONS: GH environment may promote staff longevity and does not negatively affect worker's stress, safety perceptions, or satisfaction. Larger studies are needed to confirm findings