Increase in the random dopant induced threshold fluctuations and lowering in sub-100 nm MOSFETs due to quantum effects: a 3-D density-gradient simulation study

In this paper, we present a detailed simulation study of the influence of quantum mechanical effects in the inversion layer on random dopant induced threshold voltage fluctuations and lowering in sub-100 mn MOSFETs. The simulations have been performed using a three-dimensional (3-D) implementation of the density gradient (DG) formalism incorporated in our established 3-D atomistic simulation approach. This results in a self-consistent 3-D quantum mechanical picture, which implies not only the vertical inversion layer quantization but also the lateral confinement effects related to current filamentation in the “valleys” of the random potential fluctuations. We have shown that the net result of including quantum mechanical effects, while considering statistical dopant fluctuations, is an increase in both threshold voltage fluctuations and lowering. At the same time, the random dopant induced threshold voltage lowering partially compensates for the quantum mechanical threshold voltage shift in aggressively scaled MOSFETs with ultrathin gate oxides

"Solverating the problematising"

Submitted versio

Equality: A tool for free-form equation editing

We describe a new tool, Equality, for equation entry using free-form layout of components drawn from a palette of symbols. Our approach is designed to enable learners to easily manipulate the structure of their equations, to be functional in both desktop and mobile environments, and to minimize the amount of learning required to use the tool.We present the results of a study comparing a prototype of our approach with Microsoft Equation Editor using a desktop machine. The initial results are promising with participants reporting that the mechanism is easy to learn and an easy way to manipulate their equations. We report the results of the study and the views of the participants and identify how these will inform the future development of Equality.We thank the Department for Education (United Kingdom) for their support in funding this work through the Isaac Physics project.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from IEEE via http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ICALT.2015.3

Quantum Mechanical Enhancement of Random Dopant Induced Threshold Voltage Fluctuations and Lowering in Sub 0.1 micron MOSFETs

Published versio

Moxifloxacin Replacement in Contemporary Tuberculosis Drug Regimens Is Ineffective against Persistent Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the Cornell Mouse Model

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains a leading killer worldwide, and disease control is hampered by ineffective control of persistent infections. Substitution of moxifloxacin for isoniazid or ethambutol in standard TB regimens reduces treatment duration and relapse rates in animal studies and four-month regimens were not non-inferior in clinical trials. Resuscitation promoting factor (RPF) dependent bacilli have recently been implicated in M. tuberculosis persistence. We aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of moxifloxacin substitution in the standard drug regimen for eradicating colony forming count (CFU) positive and RPF-dependent persistent M. tuberculosis using the Cornell murine model. M. tuberculosis infected mice were treated with regimens in which either isoniazid or ethambutol were replaced by moxifloxacin to the standard regimen. The efficacy of the regimens was compared to the standard regimen for bacterial CFU count elimination and removal of persistent tubercle bacilli evaluated using culture filtrate (CF) derived from M. tuberculosis strain H37Rv. We also measured disease relapse rates. Moxifloxacin-isoniazid substituted regimen achieved total organ CFU count clearance at 11 weeks post-treatment, faster than standard regimen (14 weeks), and with a 34% lower relapse rate. Moxifloxacin-ethambutol substituted regimen was similar to standard regimens in these regards. Importantly, neither moxifloxacin-substituted regimens nor the standard regimen could remove CF-dependent persistent bacilli. Evaluation of CF-dependent persistent M. tuberculosis requires confirmation in human studies, and has implications in future drug design, testing and clinical applications

Probing temperature- and solvent-dependent protein dynamics using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

The effect of temperature on the terahertz-frequency-range material properties of lyophilized and single-crystal hen egg-white lysozyme has been measured using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, with the results presented and discussed in the context of protein and solvent dynamical and glass transitions. Lyophilized hen egg-white lysozyme was measured over a temperature range from 4 to 290 K, and a change in the dynamical behaviour of the sample at around 100 K was observed through a change in the terahertz absorption spectrum. Additionally, the effect of cryoprotectants on the temperature-dependent absorption coefficient is studied, and it is demonstrated that terahertz time-domain spectroscopy is capable of resolving the true glass transition temperature of single-crystal hen egg-white lysozyme at 150 K, which is in agreement with literature values measured using differential scanning calorimetry

Increased alternate splicing of Htr2c in a mouse model for Prader-Willi syndrome leads disruption of 5HT(2C) receptor mediated appetite

Alternate splicing of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) 2C receptor (5-HT2CR) pre-RNA is negatively regulated by the small nucleolar RNA, Snord115, loss of which is observed in nearly all individuals with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), a multigenic disorder characterised by hyperphagia and obesity. Given the role of the 5-HT2CR in the regulation of ingestive behaviour we investigated the pathophysiological implications of Snord115 deficiency on 5-HT2CR regulated appetite in a genotypically relevant PWS mouse model (PWS-IC). Specifically, we demonstrate that loss of Snord115 expression is associated with increased levels of hypothalamic truncated 5-HT2CR pre-mRNA. The 5-HT2CR promotes appetite suppression via engagement of the central melanocortin system. Pro-opiomelancortin (Pomc) mRNA levels within the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC) were reduced in PWS-IC mice. We then went on to assess the functional consequences of these molecular changes, demonstrating that PWS-IC mice are unresponsive to an anorectic doses of a 5-HT2CR agonist and that this is associated with attenuated activation of POMC neurons within the ARC. These data provide new insight into the significance of Htr2c pre-mRNA processing to the physiological regulation of appetite and potentially the pathological manifestation of hyperphagia in PWS. Furthermore, these findings have translational relevance for individuals with PWS who may seek to control appetite with another 5-HT2CR agonist, the new obesity treatment lorcaserin

Health Beliefs in a Population: The Michigan Blood Pressure Survey

In a general population sample, we examined relationships between sociodemographic characteristics and health beliefs. Individual questionnaire measures for components of the health belief model were combined to form six scales. In analyses which adjusted for perceived levels of health, sociodemographic markers of social disadvantage (e.g., black race, or low socioeconomic status) appeared to associate with favorable health beliefs, that is, with health beliefs often associated with health promoting behaviors. Specifically, we found that blacks expressed greater concern about health. Women believed they tended to get sick more often and to suffer more severely from illness. Female and older respondents placed greater value on the kinds of services provided by members of the health professions. Female, black, older, and lower socioeconomic status respondents placed greater value on such healthful personal habits as exercise, alcohol avoidance, and proper diet. These results suggested that the poor health suffered by relatively disadvantaged members of society are not, in some manner, a consequence of funda mental beliefs about health.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66619/2/10.1177_109019819001700202.pd

Elevated arousal at time of decision-making is not the arbiter of risk avoidance in chickens

The somatic marker hypothesis proposes that humans recall previously experienced physiological responses to aid decision-making under uncertainty. However, little is known about the mechanisms used by non-human animals to integrate risk perception with predicted gains and losses. We monitored the behaviour and physiology of chickens when the choice between a high-gain (large food quantity), high-risk (1 in 4 probability of receiving an air-puff) option (HGRAP) or a low-gain (small food quantity), no-risk (of an air-puff) (LGNAP) option. We assessed when arousal increased by considering different stages of the decision-making process (baseline, viewing, anticipation, reward periods) and investigated whether autonomic responses influenced choice outcome both immediately and in the subsequent trial. Chickens were faster to choose and their heart-rate significantly increased between the viewing and anticipation (post-decision, pre-outcome) periods when selecting the HGRAP option. This suggests that they responded physiologically to the impending risk. Additionally, arousal was greater following a HGRAP choice that resulted in an air-puff, but this did not deter chickens from subsequently choosing HGRAP. In contrast to human studies, we did not find evidence that somatic markers were activated during the viewing period, suggesting that arousal is not a good measure of avoidance in non-human animals

Through the looking glass: The factors that influence consumer trust and distrust in brands

This paper aims to identify the factors responsible for creating brand trust and brand distrust among consumers. It uses a grounded theory approach to guide the conduct and analysis of 20 semi-structured interviews that yielded 120 descriptions of consumer-brand interactions. The 3 stage model that emerged shows a process whereby consumers prioritize product/service quality information and subsequently consider how the company behind the brand behaves towards consumers in the name of the brand, specifically behaviors signalling its integrity and benevolence. Finally, consumers consider characteristics of the company behind the brand (e.g. its financial status) and how it behaves in its own name towards other stakeholder groups (e.g. employees). The process for distrust mirrors that for trust, implying the two are polar opposites. The data also show that trust and distrust in a brand can co-exist but within separate domains