Analytical Modeling of Surface Potential and Drain Current of Hetero-Dielectric DG TFET and Its Analog and Radio-Frequency Performance Evaluation

Semiconductors - In the present paper, analytical modeling of surface potential and drain current for hetero-dielectric double gate tunnel FET (HDG-TFET) has been done. The two dimensional (2D)...     

Effect of swirl and number of swirler vanes on combustion characteristics of methane inverse diffusion flame

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - An experimental study is performed to explore the effect of swirl and number of swirler vanes on combustion characteristics of methane inverse...     

Preparation and physicochemical study of jute and glass composites of epoxy resin of (2E, 6E)-bis(4-hydroxybenzylidene)cyclohexanone

Polymer Bulletin - Jute and glass composites of epoxy resin of (2E, 6E)-bis(4-hydroxybenzylidene)cyclohexanone (EBHBC) were prepared by compressing molding technique using three different hardeners...     

全流程低功耗设计技术的应用

随着便携式电子设备的日益使用,要求集成电路IC及SoC的功耗越来越低。在今后日益复杂的设计中,实现一个可靠的电源网络以减小功耗变成了主要的挑战。对于使用者来说,期待每一代新产品都具有新型功能,同时也希望产品的体积小并具有较长的工作时间。解决这个难题的方法之一就是采用新型的IC设计技术,以提供小而且高效的晶体管。在整个设计流程中,为了使器件的性能和可靠性最优,电源方面的限制非常关键。例如在逻辑门应用中,由于开关从一种状态转换到另一种状态从而引起动态功耗。在开关的转换过程中,和晶体管门极相连的所有内部电容将会被…     

Antisense oligonucleotide inhibition of hepatitis C virus gene expression in transformed hepatocytes

Genetic and biochemical studies have provided convincing evidence that the 5' noncoding region (5' NCR) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is highly conserved among viral isolates worldwide and that translation of HCV is directed by an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) located within the 5' NCR. We have investigated inhibition of HCV gene expression using antisense oligonucleotides complementary to the 5' NCR, translation initiation codon, and core protein coding sequences. Oligonucleotides were evaluated for activity after treatment of a human hepatocyte cell line expressing the HCV 5' NCR, core protein coding sequences, and the majority of the envelope gene (E1). More than 50 oligonucleotides were evaluated for inhibition of HCV RNA and protein expression. Two oligonucleotides, ISIS 6095, targeted to a stem-loop structure within the 5' NCR known to be important for IRES function, and ISIS 6547, targeted to sequences spanning the AUG used for initiation of HCV polyprotein translation, were found to be the most effective at inhibiting HCV gene expression. ISIS 6095 and 6547 caused concentration-dependent reductions in HCV RNA and protein levels, with 50% inhibitory concentrations of 0.1 to 0.2 microM. Reduction of RNA levels, and subsequently protein levels, by these phosphorothioate oligonucleotides was consistent with RNase H cleavage of RNA at the site of oligonucleotide hybridization. Chemically modified HCV antisense phosphodiester oligonucleotides were designed and evaluated for inhibition of core protein expression to identify oligonucleotides and HCV target sequences that do not require RNase H activity to inhibit expression. A uniformly modified 2'-methoxyethoxy phosphodiester antisense oligonucleotide complementary to the initiator AUG reduced HCV core protein levels as effectively as phosphorothioate oligonucleotide ISIS 6095 but without reducing HCV RNA levels. Results of our studies show that HCV gene expression is reduced by antisense oligonucleotides and demonstrate that it is feasible to design antisense oligonucleotide inhibitors of translation that do not require RNase H activation. The data demonstrate that chemically modified antisense oligonucleotides can be used as tools to identify important regulatory sequences and/or structures important for efficient translation of HCV.     

Validity of the PAS-ADD for detecting psychiatric symptoms in adults with learning disability (mental retardation)

The Psychiatric Assessment Schedule for Adults with Developmental Disability (PAS-ADD) is a semi-structured interview for use with respondents who have learning disability and for key informants. This report investigates the ability of the instrument to detect symptoms that had been found to exist during routine clinical assessment of the patients. Field trials involved 95 referred patients with learning disability and a key informant for each sample member. Clinical opinions of the referring psychiatrists were sought using a symptom checklist. Referrer checklist symptoms and PAS-ADD data were both factor analysed. Validity testing involved (a) computation of correlations between PAS-ADD factors and checklist data and (b) comparison of PAS-ADD and referrers' diagnoses. Results indicated good validity for the PAS-ADD in relation to psychotic symptoms and depressive symptoms. Anxiety symptom identification was not well validated, probably due to small numbers. Expansive mood identified by the referrers was not detected by the PAS-ADD because there is currently no corresponding section in the interview. Where the PAS-ADD produced a diagnosis (in 58 members of the sample), 44 were in agreement with the referrer. Probability of diagnosis by PAS-ADD increased with the number of relevant active symptoms identified by the referrer. The PAS-ADD has been shown in a previous report to have the sensitivity to detect mental disorders not known to psychiatric services. For psychotic and depressive conditions, our results showed that symptom detection was in good agreement with the information provided by the referring psychiatrists on their patients. The PAS-ADD needs a section on hypomania and further investigation of its detection of anxiety disorders.     

Korsakoff's syndrome, cognition and clonidine

Eighteen patients suffering from Alcoholic Korsakoff's Syndrome participated in a placebo-controlled double-blind cross-over trial of clonidine 0.3 mg b.d. for two weeks versus matched placebo for two weeks. A detailed neuropsychological assessment was carried out at the end of each treatment phase and staff ratings of behaviour were also obtained. Clonidine treatment resulted in no significant improvement over placebo on any of the cognitive measures employed. The results contradict previous smaller studies which had suggested that chronic treatment with clonidine had a memory-enhancing effect in Korsakoff's syndrome.     

Opsin/all-trans-retinal complex activates transducin by different mechanisms than photolyzed rhodopsin

In rhodopsin, the 11-cis-retinal chromophore forms a complex with Lys296 of opsin via a protonated Schiff base. Absorption of light initiates the activation of rhodopsin by cis/trans photoisomerization of retinal. Thermal relaxation through different intermediates leads into the metarhodopsin states which bind and activate transducin (Gt) and rhodopsin kinase (RK). all-trans-Retinal also recombines with opsin independent of light, forming activating species of the receptor. In this study, we examined the mechanism by which all-trans-retinal activates opsin. To exclude other amines except active site Lys296 from formation of Schiff bases, we reductively methylated rhodopsin (PM-rhodopsin), which we then bleached to generate PM-opsin. Using spectroscopic methods and a Gt activation assay, we found that all-trans-retinal interacted with PM-opsin, producing a noncovalent complex that activated Gt. The residual nucleotide exchange in Gt catalyzed by opsin was approximately 1/250 lower relative to that of photoactivated rhodopsin (pH 8.0, 23 degrees C). Addition of equimolar all-trans-retinal led to an occupancy of one-tenth of the putative retinal binding site(s) of opsin and enhanced the Gt activation rate 2-fold. When the concentration of all-trans-retinal was increased to saturation, the Gt activation rate of the opsin/all-trans-retinal complex was approximately 1/33 lower compared to that of photoactivated rhodopsin. We conclude that all-trans-retinal can form a noncovalent complex with opsin that activates Gt by different mechanisms than photolyzed rhodopsin.