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In recent years, silicon‐based room temperature Terahertz (THz) detectors have become the most optimistic research area because of their high speed, low cost, and unimpeded compatibility with mainstream complementary metal‐oxide‐semiconductor (CMOS) device technologies. However, Silicon (Si) suffers from low responsivity and high noise at THz frequencies. In this review, the recent advances in Si‐based THz detectors using silicon‐on‐insulator (SOI) substrates are presented. These offer several advantages over bulk counterparts, such as reduced parasitic capacitance, enhanced electric field confinement, and improved thermal isolation. The different types of THz detectors exploiting SOI substrate, such as conventional metal‐oxide‐semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), junction‐less MOSFETs, junction‐less nanowires field effect transistors (JLNWFETs), micro‐electromechanical system (MEMS), metal‐semiconductor‐metal (MSM) structures, and single electron transistor (SET), are discussed, and their key performances in terms of responsivity, noise equivalent power (NEP), bandwidth, and dynamic range are compared. The challenges and opportunities for further improvement of SOI THz detectors, such as device scaling, integration, and modulation, are also highlighted. This review may offer compelling evidence supporting the idea that SOI THz detectors have the potential to facilitate high performance, low power consumption, and scalability—qualities essential for advancing next‐level technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This post hoc analysis of the international SINUS‐24/‐52 trials (NCT02912468/NCT02898454) aimed to assess dupilumab efficacy in patients with severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) according to different definitions of type 2 inflammatory signature. Methods: Six definitions of type 2 inflammation were used: ≥150 eosinophils/μL or total immunoglobulin E (IgE) ≥100 IU/mL with a coexisting type 2 condition; ≥150 eosinophils/μL or total IgE ≥100 IU/mL; ≥150 eosinophils/μL; ≥250 eosinophils/μL or total IgE ≥100 IU/mL; coexisting asthma or ≥300 eosinophils/μL; presence of a coexisting type 2 condition. Odds ratios (ORs; dupilumab vs. placebo) for achieving clinically meaningful improvement (≥1 point) from baseline to week 24 (pooled SINUS‐24/‐52) and week 52 (SINUS‐52) were calculated for nasal polyp score (NPS; range 0–8), nasal congestion/obstruction score (NC; 0−3), and loss of smell score (LoS; 0−3). Results: At baseline (n = 724), most patients displayed a type 2 inflammatory signature across definitions (64.2%–95.3%). At week 24, ORs for clinically meaningful improvement ranged from 11.9 to 14.9 for NPS across type 2 definitions, 6.5–9.6 for NC, and 12.2–17.8 for LoS (all p < 0.0001). OR ranges were similar or greater at week 52: 19.0–36.6, 7.6–12.1, and 9.2–33.5, respectively (all p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Most patients with CRSwNP in the SINUS study had type 2 inflammation. Dupilumab demonstrated robust efficacy across definitions of type 2 inflammation, consistent with its profile as an inhibitor of Interleukin‐4 and Interleukin‐13 signaling, key and central drivers of type 2 inflammation in CRSwNP. Key Points: This study assessed type 2 inflammation prevalence and dupilumab efficacy in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps according to algorithm‐defined type 2 inflammationDupilumab efficacy was similar across all type 2 definitions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper presents link to system (L2S) interfacing technique for multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) iterative receivers. In L2S interfacing, usually the post detection signal to noise ratio (SNR)‐based frame error rate lookup tables (LUT) are used to predict the link level performance of receivers. While L2S interfacing for linear MIMO receivers can be conveniently implemented, it is more challenging for MIMO iterative receivers due to unavailability of the closed form SNR expressions. In this paper, we propose three methods for post detection SNR estimation for MIMO iterative receivers. The first is based on the QR decomposition of the channel matrix, the second relies on the residual noise calculation based on the soft symbols, and the third exploits the closed form SNR expressions for linear receivers. A link to system interface model for iterative receivers is developed for evaluating the reference curves for different modulation and coding schemes, and results are validated by comparing the simulated and predicted frame error rates. It is shown that linear and residual noise‐based SNR approximations result in a very good prediction performance whereas the performance of QR decomposition‐based method degrades for higher order modulations and coding schemes. This paper presents link to system interfacing technique for MIMO iterative receivers. A link to system interface model for iterative receivers is developed for evaluating the reference curves for different modulation and coding schemes, and results are validated by comparing the simulated and predicted frame error rates. Three post detection SNR evaluation schemes have been proposed for link to system interfacing all of which give good prediction performance especially at lower order modulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the possibility of cotton waste enrichment with glycine betaine (GB) for production of two strains (P9, P10) of king oyster (Pleurotus eryngii). Cotton waste was used as (100%) control (T0 = cotton waste) and augmented with various combinations of GB, (T1 = 2 mmol L−1, T2 = 4 mmol L−1, T3 = 6 mmol L−1, T4 = 8 mmol L−1 and T5 = 10 mmol L−1). The response of king oyster to GB was evaluated by earliness, yield, biological efficiency (BE), minerals (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), sodium (Na), calcium (Ca)), total sugars, total soluble solids, reducing sugars, non‐reducing sugars, ascorbic acid, proximate (crude protein, carbohydrates, crude fibers, ash, fats) content of fruiting body and Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis compared with the control substrate (cotton waste). RESULTS: The earliness, yield, and BE were higher as compared to control substrate and increased with an augmentation in the concentration of GB within the cotton waste. Two strains showed (on dry weight basis) 33.9–54.9 mg g−1 nitrogen, 6.8–12.5 mg g−1 phosphorus, 16.9–25.1 mg g−1 potassium, 40.5–64.2 mg kg−1 Zn, 17.1–37.3 mg kg−1 Cu, 1174–1325 mg kg−1 Mg, 20.1–29.1 mg kg−1 Mn, 129–265 mg kg−1 Fe, 779–835 mg kg−1 Ca), 6.3%–11.3% total sugars, 7.3–14.9 °Brix total soluble solids, 2.1–7.3% reducing sugars, 10.4–18.1% crude protein, 3.6–4.4% crude fiber and 5.6–16.7 mg (100 g)‐1 on various concentration of GB enrich cotton waste. Cotton waste enriched with GB significantly affected nutritional profile of king oyster mushroom. CONCLUSION: The results revealed that GB enriched cotton waste can be used as an innovative substrate to enhance the yield and quality of king oyster mushroom. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a generic method for determining optimal activation cycle scheduling for serially concatenated decoders using three-dimensional Extrinsic Information Transfer charts is proposed. The complexity of a turbo decoding receiver can be reduced considerably by adopting an optimal activation cycle within the component decoders. However, this optimum scheduled path varies with channel conditions for a given modulation and coding scheme. Thus a real-time evaluation of the activation path is required, which results in an added computational overhead and storage requirement. Therefore, a channel-independent method of optimal activation path scheduling using three-dimensional extrinsic information transfer chart analysis has been proposed where the activation cycle needs to be evaluated once offline and stored as lookup tables as a function of an appropriate compression parameter. The average mutual information of the codeword has been adopted as this compression parameter. It has been demonstrated that the proposed reduced complexity receiver's performance is very close to the more complex conventional fixed activation cycle schemes and superior to the signal to noise ratio-based dynamic scheduling schemes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic value of parenchymal hyperdense lesions visualized on the flat-panel CT scan in detecting/excluding intraparenchymal hemorrhage (IPH) after the endovascular treatment of acute stroke patients. Methods: Two separate cohorts of acute ischemic stroke patients who underwent endovascular treatment were evaluated. In the first group, patients were evaluated for hyperdense parenchymal lesions immediately after the treatment with flat-panel CT scan; whereas, in the second group, patients underwent multidetector CT scan post procedure. IPH was defined as hyperdensity that persisted for >24 hours on follow up CT scan. Results: A total of 30 patients were evaluated with flat panel, and 135 with multidetector CT scan immediately after the endovascular treatment. Hyperdense lesions were visualized on 7/30 (23%) of those evaluated with flat-panel CT versus 74/135 (55%) of those evaluated with multidetector CT scan. Based on 24-hour follow up imaging, hyperdense parenchymal lesions on immediate postprocedural flat-panel or multidetector CT studies had 100% sensitivity and negative predictive value for IPH; whereas, the specificity, and positive predictive value of such lesions were 88% and, 57% on the flat panel; and 53% and, 27% on the multidetector CT study, respectively. Conclusion: The absence of hyperdense lesions on immediate postprocedural flat-panel CT scan of ischemic stroke patients can exclude IPH with a high sensitivity and negative predictive value. The hyperdense parenchymal lesions visualized on flat-panel versus multidetector CT studies may have comparable sensitivity and negative predictive value for the detection of IPH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Plant production is severely affected by biotic and abiotic stresses R-genes exhibit resistance against a range of diseases and pathogens in plants. The nucleotide binding site and leucine rich repeat ( NBS-LRR) class of R-genes is the most comprehensively studied in terms of sequence evolution and genome distribution. The differential response for resistance against biotic and abiotic stress has been observed in cultivated and wild relatives of the genus Gossypium. RESULTS Efforts have been made to address the recent evolution of NBS-LRR sequences within Gossypium hirsutum and resistance gene analogue ( RGA) sequences derived from G. arboreum and G. raimondii. The % identity and phylogenetic analysis of NBS-LRR-encoded RGAs from tetraploid New World cotton and its diploid ancestors G. raimondii and G. arboreum suggest that the evolution of NBS-LRR-encoding sequences in G. hirsutum occurred by gradual accumulation of mutants that led to positive selection and a slow rate of divergence within distinct R-gene families. CONCLUSION The allotetraploid genome of cotton, after separating from its diploid parents, experienced polyploidisation, natural and artificial selection, hybrid necrosis, duplication and recombination which became the reason to shed off and evolve new genes for its survival. These driving forces influenced the development of genomic architecture that make it susceptible to diseases and pathogens as compared to donor parents. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DEAD-box RNA helicases are involved in many aspects of RNA metabolism and in diverse biological processes in plants. Arabidopsis thaliana mutants of two DEAD-box RNA helicases, STRESS RESPONSE SUPPRESSOR1 ( STRS1) and STRS2 were previously shown to exhibit tolerance to abiotic stresses and up-regulated stress-responsive gene expression. Here, we show that Arabidopsis STRS-overexpressing lines displayed a less tolerant phenotype and reduced expression of stress-induced genes confirming the STRSs as attenuators of Arabidopsis stress responses. GFP- STRS fusion proteins exhibited localization to the nucleolus, nucleoplasm and chromocenters and exhibited relocalization in response to abscisic acid ( ABA) treatment and various stresses. This relocalization was reversed when stress treatments were removed. The STRS proteins displayed mis-localization in specific gene-silencing mutants and exhibited RNA-dependent ATPase and RNA-unwinding activities. In particular, STRS2 showed mis-localization in three out of four mutants of the RNA-directed DNA methylation ( Rd DM) pathway while STRS1 was mis-localized in the hd2c mutant that is defective in histone deacetylase activity. Furthermore, heterochromatic Rd DM target loci displayed reduced DNA methylation and increased expression in the strs mutants. Taken together, our findings suggest that the STRS proteins are involved in epigenetic silencing of gene expression to bring about suppression of the Arabidopsis stress response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The management of blepharitis continues to challenge clinicians due to the poorly understood aetiology of the condition. We recently identified the family of intracellular plakin proteins as essential driving forces underlying anterior blepharitis. A large‐scale protein analysis was used to study if a topical dexamethasone/tobramycin solution could be used to reverse the expression of plakin proteins. Methods: Tear film samples from treatment naïve patients with anterior blepharitis (n = 15) were collected with Schirmer filtration paper. A subgroup of the patients (n = 10) received treatment with a dexamethasone/tobramycin 1 + 3 mg/mL ophthalmic suspension (Tobradex®) for 3 weeks and collection of tear film samples was repeated. The samples were analysed with label‐free quantification nano liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry requiring quantification in at least 70% of the samples in each group. Proteins were considered differentially expressed if p < 0.05. Results: Following Tobradex® intervention, 27 proteins were upregulated while 61 proteins were downregulated. Regulated proteins after Tobradex® treatment were involved in intermediate filament cytoskeleton organization including downregulation of the plakin proteins envoplakin, epiplakin and periplakin. Plectin, a protein of the plakin family, remained unchanged after Tobradex® therapy. Tobradex® treatment resulted in the regulation of proteins involved in translation including a cluster of downregulated ribosomal proteins. Tobradex® intervention was associated with the regulation of proteins involved in fructose metabolism and glycolytic processes including fructose‐1.6‐bisphosphatase 1, fructose‐bisphosphate aldolases A and B, pyruvate kinase PKM and transketolase. Ig lambda chain V‐I region, prominin‐1, and protein Niban were upregulated after Tobradex® treatment. Conclusions: Tobradex treatment reversed the expression of plakin proteins in anterior blepharitis. Topical solutions which inhibit the expression of plakin proteins may have the potential to restore the ocular surface integrity in anterior blepharitis and should be explored further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edible mushrooms are an important food source with high nutritional and medicinal value. They are a useful source for studying phylogenetic evolution and species divergence. The exploration of the evolutionary relationships among these species conventionally involves analyzing sequence variations within their complete mitochondrial genomes, which range from 31,854 bp (Cordyceps militaris) to 197,486 bp (Grifolia frondosa). The study of the complete mitochondrial genomes of edible mushrooms has emerged as a critical field of research, providing important insights into fungal genetic makeup, evolution, and phylogenetic relationships. This review explores the mitochondrial genome structures of various edible mushroom species, highlighting their unique features and evolutionary adaptations. By analyzing these genomes, robust phylogenetic frameworks are constructed to elucidate mushrooms lineage relationships. Furthermore, the exploration of different variations of mitochondrial DNA presents novel opportunities for enhancing mushroom cultivation biotechnology and medicinal applications. The mitochondrial genomic features are essential for improving agricultural practices and ensuring food security through improved crop productivity, disease resistance, and nutritional qualities. The current knowledge about the mitochondrial genomes of edible mushrooms is summarized in this review, emphasising their significance in both scientific research and practical applications in bioinformatics and medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to monitor protein biomarkers at clinically relevant concentrations is a powerful approach that provides insights into health status. The synergistic combination of microfluidics and photonics (optofluidic) has emerged as a new means to achieve this capability for detection and manipulation of biological samples. Here in this work, we demonstrate an optofluidic device which integrates the detection and the particle‐focusing components to facilitate on‐chip measurement of protein levels. With this design, we use a laser‐induced fluorescence technique for the direct measurement of protein levels on magnetic bead complexes tagged with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) fluorophore. The developed system was employed for the detection of human immunoglobulin G (IgG) as a model protein within a range of 0–20 μg/mL, showing an ability to resolve the fluorescence signal from different IgG concentrations down to 5.4 nM (0.81 μg/mL). The selectivity in detecting specific IgG target was tested by comparing the fluorescence signal levels from other interfering proteins such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human IgM. Although our system was designed for detecting IgG protein, this optofluidic device can be a powerful platform for the rapid detection of a diverse range of biomarkers, including viral pathogens retaining adequate signal sensitivity and selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women globally and presents a significant challenge due to its rising incidence and fatality rates. Factors such as cultural, socioeconomic, and educational barriers contribute to inadequate awareness and access to healthcare services, often leading to delayed diagnoses and poor patient outcomes. Furthermore, fostering a collaborative approach among healthcare providers, policymakers, and community leaders is crucial in addressing this critical women's health issue, reducing mortality rates, alleviating, and the overall burden of breast cancer. The main goal of this review is to explore various techniques of machine learning algorithms to examine high accuracy and early detection of breast cancer for the safe health of women. Significance statement: Comparative analysis of machine learning approaches for breast cancer predictionEnhancing awareness and reducing the gap between patients and doctorsIdentification of testing issues related to breast cancer prediction modelsComparison of support vector machine with other machine learning techniquesUtilizing machine learning techniques to improve prediction accuracyPotential of integrating machine learning models into clinical decision support systemAnalysis of different feature selection algorithms and their effectiveness [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: Asthma; Rhinitis; Allergic Rhinitis; Nasal Polyp; Chronic Rhinosinusitis EN Asthma Rhinitis Allergic Rhinitis Nasal Polyp Chronic Rhinosinusitis 1 2 2 03/02/21 20150627 NES 150627 Background The Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA SP 2 sp LEN) is a network of the leading European allergy clinical and research facilities and the GA SP 2 sp LEN Sinusitis Cohort is a database within this network. CRSwNP patients reported late age of onset for asthma, whereas CRSsNP patients reported early age of onset. Overall, 4.4% of all patients reported aspirin intolerance, which was significantly more frequent in CRSwNP vs CRSsNP patients (7.4% vs 1.3%; p < 0.0001); among these CRSwNP patients, 90.9% had asthma, forming the Aspirin Exacerbated Respiratory Disease (AERD) subgroup. [Extracted from the article]

Objectives: To evaluate within‐patient symptom improvement in the dupilumab SINUS‐24/‐52 studies in patients with severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) (NCT02912468/NCT02898454). Methods: Patients received dupilumab 300 mg or placebo every 2 weeks for 24 (SINUS‐24) or 52 weeks (SINUS‐52) on background intranasal corticosteroids. Patients daily reported symptoms of nasal congestion (NC), loss of smell (LoS) and rhinorrhoea on a scale of 0–3 (0 – no symptoms, 1 – mild, 2 – moderate, 3 – severe symptoms). The proportions of patients with moderate‐to‐severe symptoms (score ≥ 2) at baseline who improved to no‐to‐mild symptoms (score ≤ 1) were determined at Weeks 2, 24 (pooled studies) and 52 (SINUS‐52). Subgroups with prior sinonasal surgery and coexisting asthma were analysed. Results: At baseline in the pooled intention‐to‐treat population (n = 724), the proportions of patients with scores ≥ 2 for NC, LoS and rhinorrhoea were 87, 94 and 64%, respectively. Significantly, more patients achieved scores ≤ 1 (no/mild symptoms) with dupilumab vs placebo for each symptom at each time point {Week 2 NC 12% vs 2% [odds ratio 8.9 (95% CI 3.0–26.3)], LoS 5% vs 1% [4.6 (1.3–16.8)], rhinorrhoea 9% vs 2% [4.8 (1.5–15.4)], all P < 0.05; Week 24 NC 54% vs 14% [8.7 (5.6–13.5)], LoS 43% vs 6% [14.4 (7.9–26.0)], rhinorrhoea 53% vs 16% [6.6 (4.1–10.9)], all P < 0.0001}. Results were similar in subgroups with prior surgery and coexisting asthma. Conclusion: Significantly, more patients achieved improvement from moderate‐to‐severe symptoms to no‐to‐mild symptoms with dupilumab than placebo, regardless of prior surgery or coexisting asthma. Improvement was observed as early as Week 2 and continued through to Week 52. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In conclusion, our analysis shows that in patients with severe CRSwNP, dupilumab treatment improved patient-reported "taste" versus placebo. Sense of smell was measured using the loss-of-smell score (LoS) - reported daily by patients on a scale of 0-3, similar to how patient-reported taste was measured - UPSIT and the SNOT-22 smell/taste item. Improvement in patient-reported "taste" and association with smell in dupilumab-treated patients with severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps from the SINUS-24 and SINUS-52 trials Post-hoc analysis showed dupilumab significantly improves patient-reported "taste" versus placebo in patients with severe CRSwNP. [Extracted from the article]

Correlations were interpreted as very weak (0.00-0.19), weak (0.20-0.39), moderate (0.40-0.59), or strong (0.60-0.79).10 RESULTS Baseline characteristics Baseline demographics, disease characteristics, and biomarkers (Supplementary Table 1) were balanced among treatment groups and were consistent with a population with severe CRSwNP. Further research is needed to determine which biomarkers of type 2 inflammation best correlate with disease-specific objective measures of severity and subjective patient-reported outcomes. [Extracted from the article]

In the present research article, we introduce the King's type modification of q-Bernstein-Kantorovich operators and investigate some approximation properties. We show comparisons and present some illustrative graphics for the convergence of these operators to some function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case of a 15-year-old female who was rushed to the emergency department due to ingestion of 30-50 150-milligram (mg) dabigatran tablets. She had previous multiple emergency department attendances due to self-harm. During initial blood tests, her coagulation profile is abnormal with prolonged international normalised ratio (INR) and activated partial thromboplastin ratio (APTR). She was successfully treated with idarucizumab.

Onset of treatment effect with dupilumab was similar regardless of prior surgery, asthma, NSAID-ERD, or AR (Supplementary Figures S1-S4). Onset of symptom improvement was similar in patients with prior sinonasal surgery, asthma, NSAID-ERD, and AR, who may have more severe disease and be more difficult to treat. The onset of action, magnitude, and maintenance of treatment effect were similar regardless of prior surgery, or comorbid asthma, NSAID-ERD, or AR. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is a predominantly type 2‐mediated inflammatory disease with high symptom burden and reduced health‐related quality of life (HRQoL). This report aimed to comprehensively understand the effects of dupilumab on domains of HRQoL, their individual elements, and health status in patients with severe CRSwNP from phase 3 SINUS‐24 (NCT02912468) and SINUS‐52 (NCT02898454) trials. Methods: Patients were randomized to dupilumab (n = 438) or placebo (n = 286) for 24 weeks (SINUS‐24), or 52 weeks (SINUS‐52). Disease‐specific HRQoL using 22‐item sino‐nasal outcome test (SNOT‐22), and health status using EuroQoL‐visual analog scale (EQ‐VAS) was evaluated in the pooled intention‐to‐treat (ITT) population (Week 24), SINUS‐52 ITT (Week 52) and in the subgroups with/without asthma; non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug‐exacerbated respiratory disease (NSAID‐ERD); and prior sinus surgery. Results: At baseline, patients had poor disease‐specific HRQoL and general health status and identified "Decreased sense of smell/taste" and "Nasal blockage" as the most important symptoms. Dupilumab significantly improved SNOT‐22 total, domain (Nasal, Sleep, Function, Emotion, and Ear/facial), and 22‐item scores, and EQ‐VAS, at Week 24 vs placebo (all p <.0001), with continued improvements to Week 52 in SINUS‐52. Improvements occurred irrespective of comorbid asthma, NSAID‐ERD, or prior surgery. A significantly greater proportion of dupilumab‐treated patients exceeded clinically meaningful thresholds for SNOT‐22 total score and EQ‐VAS vs placebo (all subgroups p <.05 except patients without surgery at Week 24). Conclusions: Dupilumab treatment led to significant clinically meaningful improvements across all aspects of disease‐specific HRQoL, and general health status in patients with severe CRSwNP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this paper, a modified bow tie‐shaped antenna for ultra‐wideband (UWB) communication applications is presented. The anticipated antenna consists of a CPW‐fed modified bow tie‐shaped patch and two asymmetric ground planes with dual parasitic elements. Electromagnetic computation on the antenna demonstrates that the patch and grounds are strongly linked, and the designed antenna can exhibit multiple resonances which overlap to reveal the UWB working spectrum. Experimental verification of the presented antenna shows that the antenna achieved a working band of 3.2–11.0 GHz, with a fractional bandwidth of 109.9%. The antenna also attained a peak gain of 4.32 dBi at 7.3 GHz and peak efficiency of 87.3% at 6.8 GHz and reveals excellent time‐domain behavior and omnidirectional radiation patterns throughout the operating band. A small‐size, large operating band, high gain and efficiency, high fidelity factor, omnidirectional radiation patterns, and very small group delay make the antenna ideal for portable communication devices in the UWB band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Recently, there is a significant rise in the numbers of devices and systems that use industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) frequency bands. The ISM band is not only used in ISM applications but also in telecommunication services including IMT, Zigbee, Bluetooth, WiFi, WiMAX, WLAN, RFID, military radars, and wireless sensor networks. To cover all these applications, in this paper, a low‐profile planar monopole antenna is suggested for 2.45‐GHz band communication applications. The anticipated antenna is composed of a vertical bar‐shaped radiator and a partial ground plane with two vertical slits. The inclusion of vertical slits in the ground plane forms a matching circuit by enlarging the current path, and hence, the studied design can achieve a measured operating band of 2.2 to 2.95 GHz. Moreover, the studied antenna achieved a maximum peak gain of 2.77 dBi and a maximum radiation efficiency of 82.45% and exhibited an omnidirectional radiation pattern that makes it appropriate for ISM and different narrowband wireless applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancement‐mode ultrawide‐bandgap Al0.65Ga0.35N/Al0.4Ga0.6N metal–insulator–semiconductor heterojunction field‐effect transistors are demonstrated using fluorine‐plasma treatment for threshold voltage control and Al2O3 as gate dielectric. The device exhibits a threshold voltage of 5 V, a maximum drain current density of 105 mA mm−1, and a transconductance of 19 mS mm−1. In addition, the capability to achieve low off‐state current density at 3–4 × 10−9 mA mm−1, an exceptionally low gate leakage current density of 1.4 × 10−8 mA mm−1 even at a high forward gate bias of VGS = 12 V, and a current on/off ratio >1010 is shown. Small signal measurement shows that the device has a unity current gain cutoff frequency fT of 3.8 GHz and power gain cutoff frequency fmax of 4.5 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their superior breakdown fields compared with GaN and SiC and high thermal conductivity, AlxGa1−xN (x > 0.4) channel high‐electron‐mobility transistors (HEMTs) will find applications in extreme environments such as power electronics. Herein, the high‐temperature operation of ultrawide‐bandgap (UWBG) Al0.65Ga0.35N/Al0.4Ga0.6N metal oxide semiconductor heterostructure field effect transistors (MOSHFETs) with atomic layer‐deposited (ALD) high‐k gate dielectrics TiO2, Al2O3, and ZrO2 is reported. As compared with similar geometry HFETs, these devices exhibit a simultaneous reduction in gate‐leakage current by ≈104 and a positive shift of the threshold voltage as much as 4 V. This positive threshold shift indicates the introduction of negative charges at the oxide/barrier interface and within the thin oxide, attributed to the pre‐ALD plasma treatment. The gate leakage increases weakly with temperature up to 250 °C, whereas the peak drain currents decrease from ≈0.5 to 0.3 A mm−1. An analysis of the C–V and I–V characteristics reveals that this drain current decrease is due to a reduction in channel electron mobility. The potential mechanisms responsible for this are discussed. Up to the measured temperature of 250 °C, the devices withstand repeated temperature cycles without catastrophic degradation or breakdown, underscoring the promise of these materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An initial study of losses in n‐AlxGa1−xN planar waveguides at λemission ≈ 280 nm using monolithically integrated AlxGa1−xN multiple quantum wells (MQWs)‐based light‐emitting diodes and detectors is presented. The epilayer structure for the integrated devices is grown on an AlN (3.5 μm thick) template over sapphire substrates. Emitter–detector optical coupling and the directional independence of radiation within the epistructure are experimentally established. A model for estimating the attenuation coefficient under these conditions is developed. The attenuation coefficient for a planar n‐Al0.65Ga0.35N waveguide is measured to be 5–6 cm−1, and it primarily arises from the free‐carrier absorption rather than surface roughness‐dependent Rayleigh scattering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) negatively affects health‐related quality of life (HRQoL). In a previously reported randomized clinical trial (NCT01920893), addition of dupilumab to mometasone furoate in patients with CRSwNP refractory to intranasal corticosteroids (INCS) significantly improved endoscopic, radiographic, and clinical endpoints and patient‐reported outcomes. The objective of this analysis was to examine the impact of dupilumab treatment on HRQoL and productivity using secondary outcome data from this trial. Methods: Following a 4‐week mometasone furoate nasal spray run‐in, patients were randomized to commence subcutaneous dupilumab (600 mg loading dose, then 300 mg once weekly for 15 weeks [n = 30], or matched placebo [n = 30]). Outcomes included scores on the CRS disease severity visual analog scale (VAS), 22‐item Sino‐Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT‐22), 5‐dimension EuroQoL (EQ‐5D) general health status VAS, and 36‐item Short‐Form Health Survey (SF‐36) for HRQoL and nasal polyp‐related healthcare resource use questionnaires. Results: Following 16 weeks of treatment, the proportion of patients with moderate‐to‐severe CRSwNP (VAS > 3‐10) decreased from 86.2% to 21.4% with dupilumab and 88.0% to 84.2% with placebo. Dupilumab (vs placebo) resulted in significantly greater improvement in HRQoL, based on SNOT‐22, SF‐36, and EQ‐5D VAS scores. The dupilumab group had a significantly lower adjusted annualized mean number of sick leave days (0.09, vs 4.18 with placebo, P =.015) and significantly greater improvement (vs placebo) in the SNOT‐22 item "reduced productivity." Conclusions: In adults with CRSwNP refractory to treatment with INCS alone, the addition of dupilumab reduced disease severity, significantly improved HRQoL, and improved productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precipitation in the high‐altitude Indus basin governs its renewable water resources affecting water, energy and food securities. However, reliable estimates of precipitation climatology and associated hydrological implications are seriously constrained by the quality of observed data. As such, quantitative and spatio‐temporal distributions of precipitation estimated by previous studies in the study area are highly contrasting and uncertain. Generally, scarcity and biased distribution of observed data at the higher altitudes and measurement errors in precipitation observations are the primary causes of such uncertainties. In this study, we integrated precipitation data of 307 observatories with the net snow accumulations estimated through mass balance studies at 21 major glacier zones. Precipitation observations are adjusted for measurement errors using the guidelines and standard methods developed under the WMO's international precipitation measurement intercomparisons, while net snow accumulations are adjusted for ablation losses using standard ablation gradients. The results showed more significant increases in precipitation of individual stations located at higher altitudes during winter months, which are consistent with previous studies. Spatial interpolation of unadjusted precipitation observations and net snow accumulations at monthly scale indicated significant improvements in the quantitative and spatio‐temporal distribution of precipitation over the unadjusted case and previous studies. Adjustment of river flows revealed only a marginal contribution of net glacier mass balance to river flows. The adjusted precipitation estimates are more consistent with the corresponding adjusted river flows. The study recognized that the higher river flows than the corresponding precipitation estimates by the previous studies are mainly due to underestimated precipitation. The results can be useful for water balance studies and bias correction of gridded precipitation products for the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To further reduce the power dissipation in nanoscale transistors, the fundamental limit posed by the Boltzmann distribution of electrons has to be overcome. Stabilization of negative capacitance in a ferroelectric gate insulator can be used to achieve this by boosting the transistor gate voltage. Up to now, negative capacitance is only directly observed in polymer and perovskite ferroelectrics, which are incompatible with semiconductor manufacturing. Recently discovered HfO2-based ferroelectrics, on the other hand, are ideally suited for this application because of their high scalability and semiconductor process compatibility. Here, for the first time, a direct measurement of negative capacitance in polycrystalline HfO2-based thin films is reported. Decreasing voltage with increasing charge transients are observed in 18 and 27 nm thin Gd:HfO2 capacitors in series with an external resistor. Furthermore, a multigrain Landau-Khalatnikov model is developed to successfully simulate this transient behavior in polycrystalline ferroelectrics with nucleation limited switching dynamics. Structural requirements for negative capacitance in such materials are discussed. These results demonstrate that negative capacitance effects are not limited to epitaxial ferroelectrics, thus significantly extending the range of potential applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Several studies have found supplemental venous drainage channels in addition to bilateral internal jugular veins for cerebral venous efflux. We performed this study to characterize the supplemental venous outflow patterns in a consecutive series of patients undergoing detailed cerebral angiography with venous phase imaging.Methods: The venographic phase of the arteriogram was reviewed to identify and classify supplemental cerebral venous drainage into anterior (cavernous venous sinus draining into pterygoid plexus and retromandibular vein) and posterior drainage pattern. The posterior drainage pattern was further divided into plexiform pattern (with sigmoid venous sinus draining into the paravertebral venous plexus), and solitary vein pattern (dominant single draining deep cervical vein) drainage. The posterior plexiform pattern was further divided into 2 groups: posterior plexiform with or without prominent solitary vein.Results: Supplemental venous drainage was seen ipsilateral to internal jugular vein in 76 (43.7%) of 174 venous drainages (87 patients) analyzed. The patterns were anterior (n = 23, 13.2%), posterior plexiform without prominent solitary vein (n = 40, 23%), posterior plexiform with prominent solitary vein (n = 62, 35.6%), and posterior solitary vein alone (n = 3, 1.7%); occipital emissary veins and/or transosseous veins were seen in 1 supplemental venous drainage. Concurrent ipsilateral anterior and posterior supplemental drainage was seen in 6 of 174 venous drainages analyzed.Conclusions: We provide an assessment of patterns and rates of supplementary venous drainage to internal jugular veins to improve our understanding of anatomical and physiological aspects of cerebral venous drainage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correlation-based network analysis (CNA) of the metabolic profiles of seeds of a tomato introgression line mapping population revealed a clique of proteinogenic amino acids: Gly, Ile, Pro, Ser, Thr, and Val. Correlations between profiles of these amino acids exhibited a statistically significant average correlation coefficient of 0.84 as compared with an average correlation coefficient of 0.39 over the 16 119 other metabolite cliques containing six metabolites. In silico removal of cliques was used to quantify their importance in determining seminal network properties, highlighting the strong effects of the amino acid clique. Quantitative trait locus analysis revealed co-localization for the six amino acids on chromosome 2, 4 and 10. Sequence analysis identified a unique set of 10 genes on chromosome 2 only, which were associated with amino acid metabolism and specifically the metabolism of Ser-Gly and their conversion into branched-chain amino acids. Metabolite profiling of a set of sublines, with introgressions on chromosome 2, identified a significant change in the abundance of the six amino acids in comparison with M82. Expression analysis of candidate genes affecting Ser metabolism matched the observation from the metabolite data, suggesting a coordinated behavior of the level of these amino acids at the genetic level. Analysis of transcription factor binding sites in the promoter regions of the identified genes suggested combinatorial response to light and the circadian clock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the fabrication of AlGaN-based pseudomorphic light-emitting diodes over sapphire substrate with peak emission at 275 nm. A 0.6 µm thick n-AlGaN contact layer was grown using a novel pulsed silicon modulation doping technique, which enabled us to achieve a sheet resistance of ∼500Ω/□. In order to mitigate current crowding and Joule heating issues, we implemented the pixel-LED design with a total p-active area of 360 µm x 360 µm. Packaged devices exhibited light output powers of ∼7 mW at 100 mA dc pump current. The forward voltage was ∼ 8.8 V. (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a new approach of pulsed modulation doping (PMD) to achieve n-type doping in AlxGa1-xN (x>0.6) layers. In this approach silane flow is cyclically modulated during n-AlGaN growth which enable us to grow low dislocation density n-AlGaN templates for UV (λ ∼ 280 nm) LEDs. We observed that dislocation density for un-doped AlGaN layers on high quality AlN layers is 3.3×108cm-2. This dislocation density was increased to 2.3×109 cm-2 for conventionally grown n-AlGaN layers on AlGaN templates. We were able to reduced dislocation density in n-AlGaN layers to 3.5×108cm-2 using PMD of n-AlGaN layers. The dislocation densities in these samples were studies using etch pit density (EPD) and Williamson and Hall studies. A comparative study of LED structures on conventional and PMD doped n-AlGaN showed improved performance for LED emitting at 280 nm for LED structure on PMD n-doped AlGaN layers. In this paper the details of our growth procedure, the epi-structure X-ray, AFM, and other characterizations will be presented. (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With 4 figures and 3 tables Abstract Soil salinity reduces crop yield in many areas of the world. Ninety-eight hexaploid wheat inbreds differing in geographic origin and belonging to six diverse adaptation groups were studied in control, EC-10 and EC-15 dS/m treatments to evaluate variability for salt tolerance and to assess the usefulness of early growth stage salinity assessment in the determination of adult plant salinity response. Significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) were observed among the 98 inbreds, three NaCl treatments and their interactions for relative growth rate (RGR), biomass, fertile tillers, grains/spike, 100-grain weight and grain yield. A range of responses were observed with an increasing salinity for most characters among the inbreds tested. The three evaluation systems (solution culture, raised beds in the field with added salt, naturally saline field conditions) were effective in assessing variability for salt tolerance in wheat germplasm. Assessment of salinity tolerance at the seedling stage correlated well with adult plant response under field conditions, and several highly stable sources of salinity tolerance were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nucleic Acid Package (NUPACK) is a growing software suite for the analysis and design of nucleic acid systems. The NUPACK web server () currently enables: NUPACK algorithms are formulated in terms of nucleic acid secondary structure. In most cases, pseudoknots are excluded from the structural ensemble. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 10th International Conference on Nitride Semi- conductors (ICNS-10) was held in Washington, DC, USA from 25th to 30th August 2013. The conference continues the successful series of biennial events started in Nagoya in 1995, and followed by meetings in Tokushima (1997), Montpellier (1999), Denver (2001), Nara (2003), Bremen (2005), Las Vegas (2007), Jeju (2009) and most recently Glasgow, Scotland in 2011. Despite ongoing global economic challenges, the conference was very well attended with 893 attendees from 31 countries enjoying a summer week in Washington, experiencing American culture, through tours of some of America's most historical monuments or of nine world-famous museums, in addition to the scientific program. The steady attendance is testament to the continuing development of III-nitrides as a material for a wealth of applications, including those needed for a 'greener' world, with increasing applications in more powerful and efficient lighting, electrical power manipulation, and electric vehicles. A total of 932 abstracts were submitted to the conference, leading to 271 oral and 504 poster presentations. The field continues to grow and diversify, and as a result, the conference series ran four parallel sessions. The meeting was divided into 20 different symposia, covering the entire spectrum of III-nitride semiconductor research and application, extending to cover newer, or less developed concepts such as solar cells and sensor applications. The organizers are very grateful to the 52 members of the program committee who worked tirelessly to solicit and then rank the submissions, as well as identifying topics and stimulating invited speakers. We are particularly grateful to the subject chairs (A. Doolittle, M. Wraback and D. Jena) and regional chairs (F. Ponce, Y. Nanishi and A. Krost) for their invaluable help and advice, and to Z. Sitar, S. Keller, W. Goetz, L. Schowalter and T. P. Chow for coordinating the stimulating rump sessions. Many thanks are due to the International Advisory Committee for their guidance concerning the event arrangements, conference structure and invited speakers. We would especially like to acknowledge the sponsors and agencies for all their financial support, particularly the Office of Naval Research, Army Research Office, Sandia National Laboratory, National Science Foundation, Zeiss, Nichia, Laytec, and Nitride Semiconductors Foundation of Japan who together sponsored 94 young scientists with travel support. Furthermore we thank Aixtron, Osram, Plasma-Therm, Crystal IS and Dow Electronic Materials for sponsorship of social functions. We also thank the 33 exhibitors who participated in the meeting. Finally, we especially want to thank the Materials Research Society and the Gaylord National Resort for meeting and local arrangements assistance. We received 182 submissions for the conference proceedings to be published in physica status solidi, using their standard evaluation procedures. Of these, 158 have been accepted for publication in this special volume, with 13 being accepted for the special sections: Phys. Status Solidi A. We are grateful to the editorial support provided by Stefan Hildebrandt, Julia Hübner and their team in bringing the proceedings together, as well as to our Guest co-Editors (D. D. Koleske, H. Amano and M. Kuball) who worked diligently to arrange quality reviews of submitted manuscripts. Finally, we thank all those who attended and contributed to making ICNS-10 such an enjoyable conference and we look forward to meeting you all again in Bejing at ICNS-11 in 2015. (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]