Quantitative Cathodoluminescence Mapping: A CdMgSeTe Thin-Film Case Study.

Full-spectrum cathodoluminescence (CL) mapping provides a point-by-point spatial measurement of the apparent band gap of a semiconductor thin film. In most studies, analysis of the electrical film properties from CL is presented as color mapping images. We have developed a spectra data analysis algorithm to functionalize, analyze, and generate statistical measurements of the luminescence data to provide additional insights. This algorithm was coded in the R language program, and a set of CdMgSeTe films were studied as an application case study. CL maps were measured for samples with different luminescent responses. A quantitative measure of the heterogeneity of the films was generated by statistical analysis of luminescent intensity and wavelength, spectra type curves, frequency distributions of peak wavelength, and relative intensity maps. The final CL analysis facilitates the investigation of the CdMgSeTe films and has potential applications for many semiconductor films.

Protection and guidance of downstream moving fish with horizontal bar rack bypass systems.

During their life cycle, fish carry out distinct movements within rivers and migrate upstream and downstream to reproduce, to feed, and to shelter in refuge habitats. During downstream movements, they can incur severe injuries that may be lethal directly or indirectly over time when passing through hydropower plants or when being entrained at other water intakes. Horizontal bar rack bypass systems are a state-of-the-art technology to protect and guide downstream moving fish towards a reasonably safe corridor around water intakes. They have been in operation at multiple hydropower plants for more than a decade, but only little is known about the potential fish protection and guidance efficiencies and the fine scale reactions of different fish species when encountering such racks. To resolve this, systematic live fish laboratory tests were conducted under various hydraulic conditions involving a diverse assemblage of riverine fish species differing in their swimming behavior and morphology. Six riverine species, namely spirlin (Alburnoides bipunctatus), barbel (Barbus barbus), nase (Chondrostoma nasus), brown trout (Salmo trutta fario), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), and European eel (Anguilla anguilla) were tested with a rack consisting of foil-shaped bars, clear bar spacings of 15 and 20 mm, a horizontal rack angle of 30° to the flow direction, and a full depth open channel bypass. Variations in fish behavior were observed between different species and hydraulic conditions, but the results suggest that the guidance and protection efficiencies primarily depend on the ratio of the fish width to the clear bar spacing. Larger fish were well protected by the horizontal bar rack, while smaller fish frequently passed through the rack. New equations are proposed to estimate the protection and guidance efficiencies as a function of the clear bar spacing and the fish species' biometry, which is highly relevant to assess the effect of horizontal bar racks as fish protection measures prior to installation.

The effect of hydrochloric acid (HCl) on permanent molars: A scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) study.

It is well established that acid disposal is a potentially effective method used by criminal syndicates to hinder the identification of victims. This study documents the effects of continuous immersion in hydrochloric acid (HCl, 37%) on molars using macroscopic analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The goal of this study is to aid in distinguishing visually unrecognizable fragments of dental remains when drastic changes in morphology have occurred as a result of acid exposure. Macroscopic, SEM, and EDS analysis were conducted on seven maxillary molars before and after HCl treatment. Molars reduced in weight relative to the length of time immersed in HCl and the dissolution time was over 40 hours longer than reported in previous studies, at just over 66 hours. SEM and EDS analysis showed acid-treated teeth exhibited morphological patterns such as cracking and layering visible at high magnification. Calcium/phosphorous ratios fell within the expected range of 1.6-2.5, indicating that HCl-treated teeth are still identifiable as osseous or dental tissue even when not visually identifiable as teeth. This is the first study to present SEM images of molar cementum before and after immersion in HCl and to present EDS results. This information can assist researchers and investigators in determining the presence of dental tissue in a forensic context associated with acid disposal.

Forced Self-Modification Assays as a Strategy to Screen MonoPARP Enzymes.

Mono(ADP-ribosylation) (MARylation) and poly(ADP-ribosylation) (PARylation) are posttranslational modifications found on multiple amino acids. There are 12 enzymatically active mono(ADP-ribose) polymerase (monoPARP) enzymes and 4 enzymatically active poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (polyPARP) enzymes that use nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) as the ADP-ribose donating substrate to generate these modifications. While there are approved drugs and clinical trials ongoing for the enzymes that perform PARylation, MARylation is gaining recognition for its role in immune function, inflammation, and cancer. However, there is a lack of chemical probes to study the function of monoPARPs in cells and in vivo. An important first step to generating chemical probes for monoPARPs is to develop biochemical assays to enable hit finding, and determination of the potency and selectivity of inhibitors. Complicating the development of enzymatic assays is that it is poorly understood how monoPARPs engage their substrates. To overcome this, we have developed a family-wide approach to developing robust high-throughput monoPARP assays where the enzymes are immobilized and forced to self-modify using biotinylated-NAD+, which is detected using a dissociation-enhanced lanthanide fluorescence immunoassay (DELFIA) readout. Herein we describe the development of assays for 12 monoPARPs and 3 polyPARPs and apply them to understand the potency and selectivity of a focused library of inhibitors across this family.

Mondegreens and Soramimi as a method to induce misperceptions of speech content--influence of familiarity, wittiness, and language competence.

Expectations and prior knowledge can strongly influence our perception. In vision research, such top-down modulation of perceptual processing has been extensively studied using ambiguous stimuli, such as reversible figures. Here, we propose a novel method to address this issue in the auditory modality during speech perception by means of Mondgreens and Soramimi which represent song lyrics with the potential for misperception within one or across two languages, respectively. We demonstrate that such phenomena can be induced by visual presentation of the alternative percept and occur with a sufficient probability to exploit them in neuroscientific experiments. Song familiarity did not influence the occurrence of such altered perception indicating that this tool can be employed irrespective of the participants' knowledge of music. On the other hand, previous knowledge of the alternative percept had a strong impact on the strength of altered perception which is in line with frequent reports that these phenomena can have long-lasting effects. Finally, we demonstrate that the strength of changes in perception correlated with the extent to which they were experienced as amusing as well as the vocabulary of the participants as source of potential interpretations. These findings suggest that such perceptional phenomena might be linked to the pleasant experience of resolving ambiguity which is in line with the long-existing theory of Hermann von Helmholtz that perception and problem-solving recruit similar processes.

Research on health-related quality of life and cardiac conditions.

According to the , health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a broad multidimensional concept that typically encompasses self-reported measures of physical and mental health. HRQoL is an individually based, multidomain concept referring to how a health condition impacts a person's perception of their well- being. HRQoL encompasses several domains to include functional ability, psychological state, social function, and an individual's perception of his or her health. As life expectancy continues to increase, the rates of chronic disease will also continue to grow. Patient-centric outcomes that include HRQoL will become even more important as individuals adjust to living with chronic conditions such as heart failure (HF) and other cardiac conditions. This article features 4 HRQoL-related studies. The 1st article presents data on the ability to use HRQoL measurement to predict event-free survival in HF patients. The results have implications for potentially determining those most in need of additional intervention. The 2nd article looks at the relationship between cognitive impairment and HRQoL in HF patients. The 3rd and 4th articles present information on the effect of clinical interventions on HRQoL and other outcomes. One article describes a telephone-delivered collaborative care intervention to help postcoronary artery bypass graft patients with depressive symptoms. The other intervention article describes the success of a home-based cardiac rehabilitation program. Interested readers are encouraged to read the original articles for full information about the study methods and findings.

A low number of SIC1 mRNA molecules ensures a low noise level in cell cycle progression of budding yeast.

The budding yeast genome comprises roughly 6000 genes generating a number of about 10 000 mRNA copies, which gives a general estimation of 1-2 mRNA copies generated per gene. What does this observation implicate for cellular processes and their regulation? Whether the number of mRNA molecules produced is important for setting the amount of proteins implicated in a particular function is at present unknown. In this context, we studied cell cycle control as one of the highly fine tuned processes that guarantee the precise timing of events essential for cell growth. Here, we developed a stochastic model that addresses the effect of varying the mRNA amount of Sic1, inhibitor of the Cdk1-Clb5 kinase activity, and the resulting noise on Sic1/Clb5 balance at the G1/S transition. We considered a range of SIC1 transcripts number according to our experimental data derived from the MS2 mRNA tagging system. Computational simulation revealed that an increased amount of SIC1 mRNAs lead to an amplified dispersion of Sic1 protein levels, suggesting mRNA control being critical to set timing of Sic1 downregulation and, therefore, S phase onset. Moreover, Sic1/Clb5 balance is strongly influenced by Clb5 production in both daughter and mother cells in order to maintain the characteristic time of S phase entry overall the population. Furthermore, CLB5 mRNA molecules calculated to reproduce temporal dynamics of Sic1 and Clb5 for daughter and mother cells agree with recent data obtained from more complex networks. Thus, the results presented here provide novel insights into the influence that the mRNA amount and, indirectly, the transcription process exploit on cell cycle progression.

FAMILY CAREGIVERS: caring for older adults, working with their families.

As the U.S. population ages and health care costs soar, family and friends are called upon increasingly to provide care. While the typical caregiver is a 46-year-old woman with at least some college education, anyone in the infirm person's circle may be called upon to provide care. The kind of care provided varies greatly--from managing treatment and medication regimens to driving in from out of town to help with shopping--as does each caregiver's reaction to providing such care. While some find caregiving terribly stressful, others find it rewarding. Nurses need to know how to identify the primary caregiver, discern the level of strain caused by caregiving, and create a partnership with the caregiver to help ease the burden. Accompanying text explores one caregiver's experience.