An advanced defect-monitoring test structure for electrical screening and defect localization

A new test structure for the detection and localization of short and open defects in large-scale integrated intralayer wiring processes is proposed. In the structure, an open-monitoring element in the first metal layer meanders around lines of short-monitoring elements placed in contact with N-type diffusion regions to make the structure compact. The proposed structure allows defective test structures to be screened through electrical measurements and killer defects to be localized through voltage contrast or optical microscopy methods.     

Automated high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of hydroxylysylpyridinoline and lysylpyridinoline in urine using a column-switching method

17 right-handed males volunteered for an experiment that compared task-related patterns of electromyographic (EMG) activation with data from muscle biopsy on proportion of slow-twitch ((ST) aerobic) to fast-twitch ((FT) anaerobic) muscle fibers. The biopsy was taken from the right-leg gastrocnemius muscle after EMG measurement from that area of the leg muscle. EMG was also recorded from the left forearm flexor carpi radialis area. Recordings were obtained from pre- and post-task resting periods and during 150 s of video-task performance when the right hand operated a joy-stick. The results showed a highly significant tonic EMG activation in the leg muscle of subjects with predominance of ST fibers, and this relationship generalized to the EMG from the 'passive' forearm. The proportion of ST to FT fibers is genetically defined and not altered by exercise. Therefore, our results lend support to a genetic differentiation between individuals with high vs. low probability of unintended build-up of muscle tension during perceptual-motor task performance.     

An Energy-Efficient Model of Random Cognitive Radio Network: Rayleigh-Lognormal Environment

Wireless Personal Communications - Motivated by the current demand for improvements in transmission rate and energy efficiency of random wireless cellular networks, we investigate the theoretical...     

Quiet MRI with novel acoustic noise reduction.

Fast scan techniques, which are used to reduce scanning times, have raised scanning noise levels in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems, resulting in greater patient discomfort and stress. It is well known that this noise is caused by vibration of the gradient coil due to the Lorentz forces generated by the current in the gradient coil, which is placed in a static magnetic field. We have confirmed that MRI noise can be substantially reduced by sealing the gradient coil in a vacuum chamber to block airborne vibration propagation, by supporting the gradient coil independently to block solid vibration propagation and by decreasing the eddy currents induced in RF coils, the RF shield and the static-field-magnet cryostat. Based on these findings, we have developed a silent MRI system in which scanning noise is markedly reduced under a wide range of scanning conditions.     

α-tocopherol affects the urinary and biliary excretion of 2,7,8-trimethyl-2(2′-carboxyethyl)-6-hydroxychroman, γ-tocopherol metabolite, in rats

In this study, we investigated a change in the excretory content of 2,7,8-trimethyl-2(2′-carboxyethyl)-6-hydroxychroman (γ-CEHC), a γ-tocopherol (γ-Toc) metabolite, in rat urine and bile by using a new high-performance liquid chromatography-elelectrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD) method. In this determination, CEHC [α- and γ-CEHC, where α-CEHC-2,5,7,8-tetramethyl-2(2′-carboxyethyl)-6-hydroxychioman] in the biological specimens were treated with 3 N methanolic HCl to hydrolyze conjugates and to promote esterification. The methylated samples were extracted by n-hexane/water (1∶2). The analyses of the methyl esters of α-CEHC and γ-CEHC were performed by an HPLC-ECD using an ODS-3 column at 35°C. The mobile phase was acetonitrile/water (45∶55, vol/vol) containing 50 mM sodium perchlorate. After rat urine and bile samples, respectively, were methylated as described above, methylated biliary metabolites were identified by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry as methyl esters of γ-CEHC. Furthermore, we examined the differences in the excretion of γ-CEHC between rat urine and bile after an oral administration of γ-Toc or α- +γ-Toc by the above HPLC method. In the γ-Toc group, each vitamin E-deficient rat was given 0.5 mL of a stripped corn oil preparation containing 10 mg of γ-Toc. In the α- +γ-Toc group, the rat was given 10 mg of α-Toc and 10 mg of γ-Toc. The content of γ-CEHC in rat urine from the α- +γ-Toc group was increased more in comparison to the γ-Toc group at 18–36 h after oral administration. Moreover, the content of γ-CEHC in rat bile in the α- +γ-Toc group was increased more in comparison to the γ-Toc group at 6–18 h after oral administration. Therefore, we have suggested that γ-CEHC was shifted mainly to urinary excretion after γ-CEHC had been excreted into the bile. Furthermore, we assume that α-Toc may affect the metabolism of γ-Toc to γ-CEHC in the body.     

Performance Analysis for Asynchronous Requests in Wireless Networks with Multiple Packet Reception Capability

Wireless Personal Communications - Fifth generation (5G), the currently evolving communication standard, promises better performance in terms of capability, capacity, speed, latency, etc. than...     

Guanabenz Downregulates Inflammatory Responses via eIF2α Dependent and Independent Signaling

Integrated stress responses (ISR) may lead to cell death and tissue degeneration via eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 α (eIF2α)-mediated signaling. Alleviating ISR by modulating eIF2α phosphorylation can reduce the symptoms associated with various diseases. Guanabenz is known to elevate the phosphorylation level of eIF2α and reduce pro-inflammatory responses. However, the mechanism of its action is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the signaling pathway through which guanabenz induces anti-inflammatory effects in immune cells, in particular macrophages. Genome-wide mRNA profiling followed by principal component analysis predicted that colony stimulating factor 2 (Csf2, or GM-CSF as granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor) is involved in the responses to guanabenz. A partial silencing of Csf2 or eIF2α by RNA interference revealed that Interleukin-6 (IL6), Csf2, and Cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox2) are downregulated by guanabenz-driven phosphorylation of eIF2α. Although expression of IL1β and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNFα) was suppressed by guanabenz, their downregulation was not directly mediated by eIF2α signaling. Collectively, the result herein indicates that anti-inflammatory effects by guanabenz are mediated by not only eIF2α-dependent but also eIF2α-independent signaling.     

Zero‐attracting variable‐step‐size least mean square algorithms for adaptive sparse channel estimation

Recently, sparsity‐aware least mean square (LMS) algorithms have been proposed to improve the performance of the standard LMS algorithm for various sparse signals, such as the well‐known zero‐attracting LMS (ZA‐LMS) algorithm and its reweighted ZA‐LMS (RZA‐LMS) algorithm. To utilize the sparsity of the channels in wireless communication and one of the inherent advantages of the RZA‐LMS algorithm, we propose an adaptive reweighted zero‐attracting sigmoid functioned variable‐step‐size LMS (ARZA‐SVSS‐LMS) algorithm by the use of variable‐step‐size techniques and parameter adjustment method. As a result, the proposed ARZA‐SVSS‐LMS algorithm can achieve faster convergence speed and better steady‐state performance, which are verified in a sparse channel and compared with those of other popular LMS algorithms. The simulation results show that the proposed ARZA‐SVSS‐LMS algorithm outperforms the standard LMS algorithm and the previously proposed sparsity‐aware algorithms for dealing with sparse signals. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.