Cloning and characterization of a repetitive DNA detected by HindIII in the genome of Raja montagui (Batoidea, Chondrichthyes)

A repetitive HindIII fragment of DNA from Raja montagui (Rajiformes) was cloned and sequenced for the first time in cartilaginous fishes. This element, which comprises approximately 5% of the whole genome of the spotted ray, is absent in long tandem arrays, being typical of satellite DNA. It appeared constituted by 311 AT-rich bp (61%). The clone was hybridized to the genomic DNA of species with varying phyletic distances, revealing a high degree of conservation.     

Sertraline induced parkinsonism. A case report and an in-vivo study of the effect of sertraline on dopamine metabolism

We report a patient with a parkinsonian syndrome induced by sertraline (Zoloft), an SSRI antidepressant, whose symptoms resolved after the drug was discontinued. This case prompted us to investigate the effect of sertraline on dopamine metabolism in animals. Sertraline (30 mg/kg, i.p.) or placebo (vehicle) was administered to two groups of six normal, anesthetized rats and using cerebral microdyalisis extracellular striatal levels of dopamine, the dopamine metabolites (HVA and DOPAC), as well as the serotonin metabolite 5-HIIA were monitored. In animals pre-treated with sertraline, DOPAC, HVA, and 5-HIAA levels were significantly decreased compared to control animals (p < 0.01). These data indicate that sertraline has an effect on dopamine metabolism, which may alter function in the striatum and induce a parkinsonian syndrome.     

Metopic synostosis: in favour of a "simplified" surgical treatment

Metopic synostosis is a relatively simple form of craniosynostosis, resulting from premature fusion of the metopic suture. In this pathology different degrees of dysmorphia of the anterior cranial fossa and the presence of associated anomalies of the skull might enable specific subgroups to be identified. Since most functional and cosmetic anomalies benefit from early surgical treatment, over the last few years neurosurgeons have been forced to elaborate less drastic, but nonetheless effective, surgical techniques. In the present report we analyze the surgical results obtained in a series of 62 infants with trigonocephaly operated on within their 1st year of life. Patients were subdivided into two groups (group I: 8 patients; group II: 54 patients) according to the specific dysmorphic characteristics of the frontal bone and anterior cranial fossa, and the presence of compensatory deformities affecting the anterior cranial base and temporo-parietal region. All the patients were treated using one of two relatively simple surgical techniques (procedure A: inversion of two hemifrontal bone flaps--48 cases; procedure B: the "shell" operation--14 cases). Both surgical procedures appeared to be effective, allowing adequate functional and cosmetic correction of the cranial deformity. In patients operated on following procedure B surgical time and blood loss were dramatically reduced. Long-term outcomes were satisfactory in all cases, irrespective of the surgical technique used. In the group II patients, however, progressive normalization of the interorbital distance was constantly observed, suggesting a different degree of stenotic involvement at the level of the anterior cranial base in these patients.     

Solid-state additive manufacturing and repairing by cold spraying: A review

High-performance metal additive manufacturing (AM) has been extensively investigated in recent years because of its unique advantages over traditional manufacturing processes. AM has been applied to form complex components of Ti, Fe or Ni alloys. However, for other nonferrous alloys such as Al alloys, Mg alloys and Cu alloys, AM may not be appropriate because of its melting nature during processing by laser, electron beam, and/or arc. Cold spraying (CS) has been widely accepted as a promising solid-state coating technique in last decade for its mass production of high-quality metals and alloys, and/or metal matrix composites coatings. It is now recognized as a useful and powerful tool for AM, but the related research work has just started. This review summarized the literature on the state-of-the-art and problems for CS as an AM and repairing technique.     

Capturing smart service systems: Development of a domain‐specific modelling language

Over the last years, the nature of service has changed owing to conceptual advances and developments in information technology. These developments have given rise to novel types of service and smart service systems (SSS), ie, resource configurations capable of learning, dynamic adaptation, and decision making. Currently, the internet of things (IoT) is turning physical objects into active smart things, bridging the gap between the physical and the digital world. Smart things advance SSS as they observe the physical environment, access local data, immerse into individuals' everyday lives and organizational routines. In line with the emergent nature of both phenomena, the impact of the IoT on SSS yet needs to be explored. Building the basis for explanatory and design‐led research and for the analysis and design of SSS, a means for the conceptual modelling of SSS that accounts for novel IoT‐enabled concepts is in high need. Hence, we designed, demonstrated, and evaluated a domain‐specific modelling language (DSML) for SSS. We evaluated the DSML by using it in the modelling of real‐world scenarios from all functional IoT domains, by submitting it to the scrutiny of industry experts, by discussing it against generic DSML requirements, and by analysing to what extent it meets domain‐specific design objectives compared with competing artefacts. To demonstrate the DSML, we included a complex real‐world scenario centred around the Nest Learning Thermostat.     

Accelerated microwave-assisted hydrothermal/solvothermal processing: Fundamentals,morphologies, and applications

This article is designed to serve as a roadmap for understanding the fundamentals, the key advantages and the potential applications of microwave-assisted hydrothermal/solvothermal (MAH/S) processing. MAH/S synthesis is a versatile chemical method for preparing a diversity of materials such as metals, semiconductors, electroceramics, graphene and their composites as bulk powders, thin films, or single crystals. The key to improve performance of these materials is achieving controlled morphologies (0 to 3D dimensionality) that favor desirable physical-chemical phenomena at the surface, and in the bulk of these advanced materials. The main features related to the improvement of the thermal and non-thermal effects associated with the use of microwave power concurrently with hydrothermal or solvothermal methods are discussed. Furthermore, the main crystal growth mechanisms (Ostwald ripening and oriented attachment) of these solids in solution under MAH/S treatment are described. Products synthesized by the MAH/S, particularly of interest in the development of gas sensors, batteries, fuel cells, solar cells and photocatalysts are emphasized. We conclude by envisaging new future directions for the use of this rapid and versatile processing approach.     

Solid-State Synthesis of Ultrafine BaTiO3 Powders from Nanocrystalline BaCO3 and TiO2

Barium titanate has been prepared by solid-state reaction of nanocrystalline TiO₂ (70 nm) with BaCO₃ of different particle size (650, 140, and 50 nm). The results give evidence of a strong effect of the size of BaCO₃ in the solid-state synthesis of barium titanate. The use of nanocrystalline BaCO₃ already leads to formation of the single-phase BaTiO₃ after calcination for 8 h at 800°C. The final powder consists of primary particles of ≈100 nm, has a narrow particle size distribution with d ₅₀=270 nm, and no agglomerates larger than 800 nm. For the coarser carbonate, 4 h calcination at 1000°C are required and the final powder is much coarser. Solid-state reaction of nanocrystalline BaCO₃ and TiO₂ represents an alternative to chemical preparation routes for the production of barium titanate ultrafine powders.     

Asymmetrical Doherty power architecture with an integrated driver stage in the auxiliary branch

This contribution presents the analysis, design and characterization of a high gain Doherty power amplifier implementing an integrated Driver stage in the Auxiliary branch. Guidelines and design equations are demonstrated, fulfilling the full integration of the whole new architecture. The development of a microwave monolithic integrated circuit prototype based on TriQuint GaN technology for 7 GHz applications is reported. 10.5 dB of Gain, 38.1 dBm of saturated output power and 42% of efficiency at 7 dB of output back‐off have been demonstrated by experimental results. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 24:498–507, 2014.     

Labeling source code with information retrieval methods: an empirical study

To support program comprehension, software artifacts can be labeled—for example within software visualization tools—with a set of representative words, hereby referred to as labels. Such labels can be obtained using various approaches, including Information Retrieval (IR) methods or other simple heuristics. They provide a bird-eye’s view of the source code, allowing developers to look over software components fast and make more informed decisions on which parts of the source code they need to analyze in detail. However, few empirical studies have been conducted to verify whether the extracted labels make sense to software developers. This paper investigates (i) to what extent various IR techniques and other simple heuristics overlap with (and differ from) labeling performed by humans; (ii) what kinds of source code terms do humans use when labeling software artifacts; and (iii) what factors—in particular what characteristics of the artifacts to be labeled—influence the performance of automatic labeling techniques. We conducted two experiments in which we asked a group of students (38 in total) to label 20 classes from two Java software systems, JHotDraw and eXVantage. Then, we analyzed to what extent the words identified with an automated technique—including Vector Space Models, Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI), latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), as well as customized heuristics extracting words from specific source code elements—overlap with those identified by humans. Results indicate that, in most cases, simpler automatic labeling techniques—based on the use of words extracted from class and method names as well as from class comments—better reflect human-based labeling. Indeed, clustering-based approaches (LSI and LDA) are more worthwhile to be used for source code artifacts having a high verbosity, as well as for artifacts requiring more effort to be manually labeled. The obtained results help to define guidelines on how to build effective automatic labeling techniques, and provide some insights on the actual usefulness of automatic labeling techniques during program comprehension tasks.