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Spectatorship is a core element of esports. Short for "electronic sports," esports encompasses organized, professional competitive videogaming practices produced and consumed as a spectator sport. Esports' computerized nature grants it a placeless quality, which creates ambiguities around what authentic esports spectatorship ought to be. Notably, some notions theorized prior to the emergence of contemporary esports imply that authenticity and placelessness are incompatible. We address this conundrum by presenting an ethnographic study conducted at an esports bar; a venue designed for the spectatorship of esports alongside other fans and alcohol consumption. While embodying seemingly placeless qualities, esports spectatorship nevertheless takes place in situated places. We found spectators at the bar worked to authenticate their spectatorship by drawing on conventions of legitimacy, professionalism, and spectacle from elsewhere, particularly spectator sports. Through their spectatorship, those at the bar constructed and affirmed a convention of authenticity for esports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the design and fabrication of a hybrid sensor that integrates transmission-mode localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR) into a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) for studying biochemical surface reactions. The coupling of LSPR nanostructures and a QCM allows optical spectra and QCM resonant frequency shifts to be recorded simultaneously and analyzed in real time for a given surface adsorption process. This integration simplifies the conventional combination of SPR and QCM and has the potential to be miniaturized for application in point-of-care (POC) diagnostics. The influence of antibody-antigen recognition effect on both the QCM and LSPR has been analyzed and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Balloon kyphoplasty provides symptomatic relief of vertebral compression fractures in elderly patients. Peri-operative complications are rare; however, they can potentially be devastating. To the best of our knowledge, complications during balloon kyphoplasty have not been described previously in published case reports. Case presentation A 66-year-old man who was a farmer of Caucasian origin presented with a 6-month history of back pain after a fall. We discovered a significant T12 wedge compression fracture, so we performed a T12 balloon kyphoplasty. Approximately 2 weeks after being discharged from our hospital, the patient presented with increasing back pain. He presented for a second time with excruciating pain on the left side of his thoracolumbar region, so he was admitted to our ward. X-rays did not show any further fractures or compromise, but magnetic resonance imaging showed extensive edema in the T11 and L1 vertebral bodies as well as fluid tracking from the T11-T12 disc into the vertebral body. Nine days after being discharged, the patient presented to the outpatient clinic with severe back pain. Magnetic resonance imaging at that visit showed edema at the levels above and below the T11/T12 disc. He was put into a brace and given 300mg of morphine, which did not provide any pain resolution. Posterior instrumentation from T9 to L2 (pedicle fixation of T9-T10 as well as L1-L2, rods in between and a crosslink above T11-T12) was performed as the final treatment, and the patient was discharged uneventfully. Conclusion Patients presenting with residual pain over a previous balloon kyphoplasty level should raise high suspicion for a fracture or complication involving the levels above and/or below the balloon kyphoplasty. The best way to treat fractures that develop after a failed balloon kyphoplasty is to instrument and fuse posteriorly. Our present case report shows that a high level of suspicion for possible new fractures should be maintained for all similar cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Research in to label free methods for biological analysis have brought interesting developments. Cell impedance spectroscopy has been one of the promising outcomes. Here we show the development of an 8-well impedance measurement setup and studied the use of conducting polymers as electrode material in cell impedance spectroscopy. We have developed devices using PEDOT:PSS electrodes and shown its advantages (lower impedance and faster to reach electrochemical equilibrium) over conventional materials, such as gold. It is observed through electrochemical analysis that the lower interfacial impedance is due to the low charge transfer resistance of PEDOT:PSS. MDCK cell proliferation experiments were performed using both types of electrode materials to provide a comparative result. We applied electrical modeling methods to understand the cell–substrate interactions and shown its applications in cell impedance spectroscopy. This study presents the development and advantages of cell impedance spectroscopy using conducting polymer electrodes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents an approach for matching the transconductance characteristics of CMOS ISFET arrays by removing trapped charge. We describe how to design arrays of floating-gate ISFETs so that ultraviolet (UV) radiation and bulk-substrate biasing can be used to remove the random amount of trapped charge that accumulates on the gates during fabrication. The approach is applied directly to a prototype single-chip 2 x 2 array of ISFETs, which is designed and fabricated in a standard 0.35-µm CMOS process. By considering the transconductance characteristics of the 2 x 2 array before and after UV exposure, it is shown that the response can be matched after 10 h and that the ISFET threshold voltages converge to an equilibrium value of approximately -1 V. After matching, it is found that the ISFET array has a measured sensitivity of 46 mV/pH and can successfully image a change in the pH of a homogeneous electrolyte solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents an overview of bergy bit impact trials carried out on the CCGS Terry Fox off the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland in June 18–23, 2001 and is meant to accompany the five papers that follow. The trial consisted of impacting target iceberg ice masses ranging from roughly 100 t (growlers) to 22,000 t (bergy bits) on an instrumented bow area of the ‘Terry Fox’ at various forward speeds. Parameters measured included impact forces, pressures and contact areas, ship motions with six degrees of freedom, ship forward speed, and ambient environmental factors. In addition, extensive video and photographic records were compiled, including stereo photographs of the bergy bits. Furthermore, a multi-beam sonar was used to determine underwater profiles of some of the targeted ice masses. Temperature profiles were obtained for a number of bergy bits and some ice samples were collected from undamaged and impacted ice. The details and data associated with the various components of the field study are presented in the 5 accompanying papers. Below are brief descriptions of the ‘Terry Fox’, the instrumentation/set-up used and ice characterization techniques employed. This overview is condensed from a more detailed one [Gagnon, R., Cumming, D., Ritch, R., Browne, R., Johnston, M., Frederking, R., McKenna, R. and Ralph, F., 2002. Overview of Bergy Bit Impact Trials. Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on Ice, Ice in the Environment, IAHR 2002, Dunedin, New Zealand, Vol. 1, 458–465.] presented at IAHR 2002 in New Zealand. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Scale is a concept that transcends disciplinary boundaries. In ecology and geography, scale is usually defined in terms of spatial and temporal dimensions. Sociological scale also incorporates space and time, but adds ideas about representation and organization. Although spatial and temporal location determine the context for social and ecological dynamics, social-ecological interactions can create dynamic feedback loops in which humans both influence and are influenced by ecosystem processes. We hypothesize that many of the problems encountered by societies in managing natural resources arise because of a mismatch between the scale of management and the scale(s) of the ecological processes being managed. We use examples from southern Africa and the southern United States to address four main questions: (1) What is a ‘scale mismatch?’ (2) How are scale mismatches generated? (3) What are the consequences of scale mismatches? (4) How can scale mismatches be resolved? Scale mismatches occur when the scale of environmental variation and the scale of social organization in which the responsibility for management resides are aligned in such a way that one or more functions of the social-ecological system are disrupted, inefficiencies occur, and/or important components of the system are lost. They are generated by a wide range of social, ecological, and linked social-ecological processes. Mismatches between the scales of ecological processes and the institutions that are responsible for managing them can contribute to a decrease in social-ecological resilience, including the mismanagement of natural resources and a decrease in human well-being. Solutions to scale mismatches usually require institutional changes at more than one hierarchical level. Long-term solutions to scale mismatch problems will depend on social learning and the development of flexible institutions that can adjust and reorganize in response to changes in ecosystems. Further research is needed to improve our ability to diagnose, understand, and resolve scale mismatches in linked social-ecological systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested the explanatory usefulness and policy relevance of Holling's (2001) ‘adaptive cycle’ theory in exploring processes of ‘collapse,’ also called ‘release,’ and recovery in regional social-ecological systems (SESs) in Zimbabwe and Australia. We found that the adaptive cycle is useful in recognizing changes in system behavior during the various phases. However, our small sample of cases did not generally show either the sequential passage of stages or the prerelease decline in resilience that adaptive cycle theory implies. In all cases, however, the reasons for releases were apparent with hindsight. On the other hand, our examples mostly supported the proposition that resilience is controlled by slowly changing variables. Although we found the adaptive cycle, and complex system theory in general, to be useful integrating frameworks, disciplinary theories are required to explain causes and effects in specific cases. We used theories linking distribution of political power to institutional change; to investment in natural, human, social, and physical capitals; and to access to financial capital. We explored patterns of change of these capitals before, during, and after release and reorganization. Both the patterns of change and relative importance of the different capitals during reorganization varied widely, but the importation of resources from broader scales was often a key to recovery. We propose that the resilience of most regional or national SESs can be explained in these terms. The capacity to self-organize emerged from our studies as a critical source of resilience. Although rebuilding this capacity at times requires access to external resources, excessive subsidization can reduce the capacity to self-organize. The policy implication is that cross-scale subsidization should end when self-organization becomes apparent, because subsidization can increase the vulnerability of the system as a whole. When the aim is to recover without changing the system fundamentally, the focus should be upon conserving or investing in the elements of capital critical for this. If the current system is not viable, it is necessary to invest in forms of capital that will enable fundamental change. It will also be necessary to stop investing in the capitals that maintained the unviable regime. The political difficulty of doing this is why SESs so often remain maladapted to current conditions and opportunities and eventually reach the point of collapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Beam-steering techniques are required to fully exploit the benefits of present and future terahertz imaging systems. We propose and model a device that overcomes the difficulties that prevent analogues of existing electrical and optical micro-mechanical techniques being employed at terahertz frequencies. The device employs a variable phase-control medium comprised of interlocking artificial dielectric surfaces. We present an analytical array factor calculation that provides insight into the operation of the device and an improved discrete array factor model incorporating the complex transmission coefficients of the structure. The models are validated by comparison to results from a rigorous full-vector electromagnetic solver tool (finite-difference time-domain). We predict a practical device constructed from a silicon substrate could steer both TE and TM beams by up to 6.4°. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Underway replenishment is an essential component of long-term naval operations. During underway replenishment, two ships travel in close proximity at moderate forward speed. This paper examines the hydrodynamic interactions that can influence seakeeping during such operations. Presented numerical predictions include the influence of interaction effects on hydrodynamic forces for two ships in waves. A scarcity of validation material for numerical predictions prompted new towing tank experiments for two ships in waves. The experiments used semi-captive models, and the numerical code was modified to include restraining forces for specified modes. The numerical predictions and experiments show that the presence of a larger ship can significantly influence the motions of a smaller ship in close proximity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Metal interconnect has become a major limiting factor in the growth of VLSI technology. A passive VLSI interconnect layout is proposed in which the current density is constant along its length. The result is a tapered track that has lower capacitance, hence lower power consumption, and improved high frequency performance. Simulations indicate that tapered tracks give delay reductions that permit operating frequencies up to 33% higher, and power savings of 42%, compared with equivalent rectangular tracks. Such interconnects will be of value in high speed clock nets where low skew and long paths are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the impact of elephant-mediated habitat change on biodiversity in African game reserves. Examination of woody plants, birds, bats, mantises and ants in reserves where elephants have destroyed the woodland and in adjacent intact miombo woodlands outside the reserves; Reduction of elephant densities; Loss of biodiversity under high elephant densities.

Details the millstone survey conducted by geologist John MacCulloch in West Great Britain and its consequences. Authorization of the search by the Board of Ordnance; Places discovered to have suitable limestones; Reputation established by MacCulloch in the field of geology.

Studies the voltage-current characteristic of a four-terminal mesoscopic cross device. Reduction of a simple mesoscopic device; Fabrication of the device; Device performance; Key features of the device; Characteristics of the four-terminal mesoscopic cross device.

We report the measurement of modulated backscatter produced by a Schottky diode and a printed patch antenna array at V-band (58.75 GHz). The tag was fabricated on a liquid crystalline polymer substrate that is used as the dielectric film and as a carrier for the diode that is wire bonded to the surface of the array. An inexpensive commercial V-band transceiver chipset was successfully used to detect modulated backscatter when the diode was switched at kHz frequencies, demonstrating that the effect is strong enough to be used in commercial applications requiring lightweight, wearable transponders. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26067 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied the incidence of deep wound infection after hip fracture surgery and its relationship to urinary catheterisation. Infection after hemiarthroplasty occurred in 16/949 cases and 10/1,143 sliding hip screw fixations. No cases of deep sepsis were seen for the 203 patients treated with an intramedullary nail or the 816 patients treated with parallel screws. The use of urinary catheterisation was compared with a control group of patients. In the sepsis group, 12/18 patients had been catheterised peri-operatively or within 24 h, as opposed to 18/36 patients in the control group; the difference between these two groups was not statistically significant (P=0.38). There was a statistically significant increase in the proportion of patients who had more than two urinary catheterisations (6/18 versus 3/36, P=0.05) or who had a long-term catheter (7/16 versus 3/36, P=0.01) in the sepsis group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have carried out measurements on the nonlinear behavior of the current–voltage characteristics of a mesoscopic cross, fabricated in a high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs two-dimensional electron gas. Our measurement show two distinct peaks, one at an electron excess energy of 3.3 meV, and a second at an excess energy of 50 meV. The first peak arises when electron-electron scattering reduces the mean free path below the dimensions of the cross. The second peak is due to electron cooling by LO phonon emission. © 1996 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determines if hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increased bone density in women with exercise-associated amenorrhea. Increase in vertebral and femoral neck bone density over 24 to 30 minutes in women who used HRT; Nonsignificant decreases of less than 2.5 percent in a control group of untreated women.

Spectroscopy is widely used in biomedicine, agriculture, remote sensing, industrial process monitoring, etc. The emerging on‐chip integration techniques further extend these applications to on‐site and portable operating modes. However, realizing high‐applicability and low‐cost spectroscopy chips is still a major challenge particularly in infrared due to the requirements on a large number of spectral channels. Here, a compact and low‐cost near‐infrared spectral sensing platform is demonstrated, releasing the burden of scaling up the spectral channel and simultaneously keeping a high accuracy in chemical classification. The monolithically integrated spectral sensor consists of a small amount of plasmon‐modulated narrowband photodetection units and operates with on‐chip photoelectric responses via a statistical machine learning method. Both plasmonic resonances with low spectral correlation and advanced regression algorithms contribute to high sensing accuracy in the case of limited hardware resources. Chemical concentration quantification, plastic sorting, and scanning spectral imaging are realized using such a sensor with up to twelve spectral channels. This concept avoids the uncertainty of various spectral reconstruction algorithms, high cost, and processing complexity and therefore provides promising strategies for miniaturized spectral sensing platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lack of commitment to infertility investigations and treatment was not the reason for patient dropout. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

: ObjectiveTo determine whether anovulation exists in normally menstruating women.: MethodsIn a database of 550 consecutive couples seeking pregnancy, results of the midluteal serum progesterone level analysis planned for 7 days before the onset of the next menses were examined in women with predictable cycles shorter than 35 days.: ResultsOf the 550 couples seeking pregnancy, 410 of the female partners (74.5%) were eumenorrheic. Fifteen of these women (3.7%) had apparently anovulatory cycles with a progesterone lower than the normal ovulatory value of 15 nmol/L. Further examination showed that four of the 15 women (26.7%) had an isolated prolonged cycle, whereas an additional four (26.7%) failed to have their sample taken at an appropriate time. One (6.7%) had a low progesterone level that was normal in the subsequent cycle. Two patients (13.3%) were older than 40, both having elevated early follicular follicle-stimulating hormone levels. One patient (6.7%) conceived in the following menstrual cycle without further evaluation. The three remaining women (20%) showed consistently apparently anovulatory cycles. However, the levels were exclusively above the follicular range.: ConclusionOur findings cast doubt on the concept of anovulatory cycles in eumenorrheic women and suggest that further examination of the lower level of ovulatory progesterone may indeed be necessary. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction: Balloon kyphoplasty provides symptomatic relief of vertebral compression fractures in elderly patients. Peri-operative complications are rare; however, they can potentially be devastating. To the best of our knowledge, complications during balloon kyphoplasty have not been described previously in published case reports.Case Presentation: A 66-year-old man who was a farmer of Caucasian origin presented with a 6-month history of back pain after a fall. We discovered a significant T12 wedge compression fracture, so we performed a T12 balloon kyphoplasty. Approximately 2 weeks after being discharged from our hospital, the patient presented with increasing back pain. He presented for a second time with excruciating pain on the left side of his thoracolumbar region, so he was admitted to our ward. X-rays did not show any further fractures or compromise, but magnetic resonance imaging showed extensive edema in the T11 and L1 vertebral bodies as well as fluid tracking from the T11-T12 disc into the vertebral body. Nine days after being discharged, the patient presented to the outpatient clinic with severe back pain. Magnetic resonance imaging at that visit showed edema at the levels above and below the T11/T12 disc. He was put into a brace and given 300mg of morphine, which did not provide any pain resolution. Posterior instrumentation from T9 to L2 (pedicle fixation of T9-T10 as well as L1-L2, rods in between and a crosslink above T11-T12) was performed as the final treatment, and the patient was discharged uneventfully.Conclusion: Patients presenting with residual pain over a previous balloon kyphoplasty level should raise high suspicion for a fracture or complication involving the levels above and/or below the balloon kyphoplasty. The best way to treat fractures that develop after a failed balloon kyphoplasty is to instrument and fuse posteriorly. Our present case report shows that a high level of suspicion for possible new fractures should be maintained for all similar cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An obituary for researcher Simon Triger is presented.

Failure to adhere to therapy is common in couples with fertility problems. Explaining why is difficult and worthy of further investigation without stigmatizing assumptions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article presents the simulation, fabrication, and experimental characterization of a surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) sensor integrated with an acoustic sensing compatible substrate. The SPR sensor is designed to work in the visible region with gold nanodisc arrays fabricated on LiNbO3, which is both piezoelectric and birefringent. A linear relationship between resonance wavelength and varying liquid refractive indices were observed in experiments, and a sensitivity of 165 nm/refractive index unit was obtained. Polarization effects of the birefringent property of the Y-cut LiNbO3 substrate have been investigated, which can also be applied to X-cut LiNbO3. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of an SPR sensor device utilizing a birefringent substrate, which has acoustic wave compatibility and can pave the way toward much more robust and flexible biosensing devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is extremely important for biodiversity conservation that protected areas are resilient to a range of potential future perturbations. One of the least studied influences on protected area resilience is that of disease. We argue that wildlife disease (1) is a social-ecological problem that must be approached from an interdisciplinary perspective; (2) has the potential to lead to changes in the identity of protected areas, possibly transforming them; and (3) interacts with conservation both directly (via impacts on wild animals, livestock, and people) and indirectly (via the public, conservation management, and veterinary responses). We use southern African protected areas as a case study to test a framework for exploring the connections between conservation, endemic disease, and social-ecological resilience. We first define a set of criteria for the social-ecological identity of protected areas. We then use these criteria to explore the potential impacts of selected diseases (foot-and-mouth disease, anthrax, malaria, rabies, rift valley fever, trypanosomiasis, and canine distemper) on protected area resilience. Although endemic diseases may have a number of direct impacts on both wild animals and domestic animals and people, the indirect pathways by which diseases influence social-ecological resilience also emerge as potentially important. The majority of endemic pathogens found in protected areas do not kill large numbers of wild animals or infect many people, and may even play valuable ecological roles; but occasional disease outbreaks and mortalities can have a large impact on public perceptions and disease management, potentially making protected areas unviable in one or more of their stated aims. Neighboring landowners also have a significant impact on park management decisions. The indirect effects triggered by disease in the human social and economic components of protected areas and surrounding landscapes may ultimately have a greater influence on protected area resilience than the direct ecological perturbations caused by disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the activity patterns, abundance, diversity, and diets of bats, along with the abundance of nocturnal volant insects, at 30 sites in Miombo woodland in northern Zimbabwe. The woodland at 50% of the sites had been disturbed by high elephant densities to the extent that the tree canopy was greatly reduced. The tree canopy was intact at the other sites. Intact and impacted sites differed significantly in tree (>3 m tall;> 15 cm basal diameter) and shrub (1-3 m tall; <1 m tall) diversity and cover. At each site we used ultraviolet lights to sample insects and mist nets and bat detectors to sample bats. To assess their diets we collected and analyzed feces from captured bats. We caught 343 bats representing the families Pteropodidae (1 species), Vespertilionidae (11 species), and Molossidae (3 species). The molossids and vespertilionids are all aerial feeders taking airborne insects. Bat species richness, abundance, and activity were greater at intact than at impacted sites, but these differences were statistically significant only at adjacent sites (<5 km apart) not at more distant intact and impacted sites (>20 km apart). At the adjacent sites we caught a significantly greater proportion of small (<10 g) bats at intact than at impacted sites. These data and a significantly greater proportion of Scotophilus species (>10 g) caught during the early evening at intact than at impacted sites suggested that the removal of canopy trees affected roost availability for the bats. Although larger species may have commuted between intact and impacted sites, smaller species did not. In contrast, the availability of prey did not appear to have been significantly affected by the removal of the canopy trees, as indicated by the light-trap catches of insects and the bats' diets. Most bats ate mainly beetles and moths, the most abundant insects sampled at the ultraviolet lights. Our findings suggest that aerial-feeding bats such as vespertilionids and molossids do not appear to be useful indicators of disturbance in this habitat, even in the face of significant loss of tree canopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We describe a complete lab-on-a-chip type ion-sensitive chemical sensor array system for imaging proton concentration and flow. The core of the imaging system relies on a 715.8μm×715.8μm large 64×64-pixel ISFET sensor array that is designed and fabricated in a conventional 4-metal 0.35μm CMOS process along with readout circuitry and additional electronics. The high-speed and real-time data acquisition of ∼100frame per second (fps), 40μs per pixel, results in a large amount of data that is streamed to the hard disk. Image reconstruction methods allow visualization of the dynamic behavior of chemical substances and ionic spreads over the sensor array at a resolution of the size of a pixel. The functionalities of the on-chip ion-camera device are demonstrated using appropriate acid and alkaline solutions. A pH sensitivity of 20mV/pH was achieved without modification to the foundry processed chip. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Surface enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy (SERRS) is a powerful molecular sensing tool that can be-applied to a number of applications in the field of molecular diagnostics. We demonstrate that by using electron beam lithography to manipulate the nanoscale geometry of Ag split-ring resonators we can tune their optical properties such that they exhibit two independently addressable high frequency plasmon resonance modes for SERRS. This tailored multimodal, polarization dependent activity enables the split rings to act as discriminating sensors, with each resonance tuned for a particular sensing purpose. The structures are used as multiwavelength, multianalyte DNA SERRS sensors, with each resonance tuned to both the absorption wavelength of a differently colored Raman reporter molecule and its corresponding laser excitation wavelength. The ability of each resonance to independently sense small concentrations of a single DNA type from within a mixed population is demonstrated. Also shown is the effect of the split ring's dichroic response on the SERRS signal and the sensor's limit of detection of each resonance mode (switching its sensory reaction "on" and "off" depending on the orientation of the exciting light). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the experimental in situ characterization of 30-40 MHz and 868 MHz wireless transmission schemes for ingestible capsules, in porcine carcasses. This includes a detailed study of the performance of a magnetically coupled near-field very high-frequency (VHF) transmission scheme that requires only one eighth of the volume and one quarter of the power consumption of existing 868-MHz solutions. Our in situ measurements tested the performance of four different capsules specially constructed for this study (two variants of each transmission scheme), in two scenarios. One mimicked the performance of a body-worn receiving coil, while the other allowed the characterization of the direction-dependent signal attenuation due to losses in the surrounding tissue. We found that the magnetically coupled near-field VHF telemetry scheme presents an attractive option for future, miniturized ingestible capsules for medical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE:To estimate the effect of increased menstrual flow on the loss of work.METHODS:Heavy or otherwise abnormal menstrual bleeding is a common problem among women in the reproductive age range. Until now, there has been no evidence of its effect on absences from work. We used data from the National Health Interview Survey 1999, a personal interview household survey using a nationwide representative sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States. Participants were 3133 women aged between 18 and 64 years who reported having a natural menstrual period in the last 12 months and in the last 3 months, never having taken medication containing estrogen (except past use of oral contraceptives), and never having been told that they had reproductive cancer. Analysis was performed using data from 2805 women, 373 having self-described heavy flow and 2432 having normal flow. The main outcome measure was work loss associated with the degree of menstrual flow.RESULTS:Using binary logistic regression, age, marital status, education, family size, perception of health, and flow of menstrual periods are associated with work losses (P < .05). The odds ratio of 0.72 (95% confidence interval 0.56, 0.92) indicates that women who have a heavier flow are 72% as likely to be working as are women who have a lighter or normal flow.CONCLUSION:Menstrual bleeding has significant economic implications for women in the workplace: work loss from increased blood flow is estimated to be $1692 annually per woman. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

ABSTRACT A novel method of introducing a notch at a point of high magnetic field in a coplanar waveguide (cpw) radial and diamond stub resonator to increase the quality factor (Q) was analyzed. For comparison, both radial- and diamond-shaped cpw resonators with and without notches were fabricated on gallium arsenide (GaAs) semi-insulating substrate at the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre and tested in the milli-metric laboratory at University of Glasgow. The notch increased the loaded Q factor of the diamond resonator by approximately 28% and good agreement was obtained between the measured and simulated loaded Q for both cpw radial and diamond resonators. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 57:1323-1325, 2015 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A tunable metallic photonic crystal filter with a mechanical tuning mechanism is demonstrated. The performance is predicted with rigorous full-vector electromagnetic simulations (finite-difference time domain). A prototype has been built and characterized in the W band (70–110 GHz) using a vector network analyzer configured for free-space measurement of S parameters. The measured filter’s passband has a quality factor of 11, a tuning range of 3.5 GHz, and insertion loss of only 1.1–1.7 dB. Device fabrication is straightforward, yielding an inexpensive, robust and compact tunable filter. © 2003 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Early stage diagnosis of sepsis without overburdening health services is essential to improving patient outcomes. Methods: A fast and simple-to-use platform that combines an integrated circuit with paper microfluidics for simultaneous detection of multiple-metabolites appropriate for diagnostics was presented. Paper based sensors are a primary candidate for widespread deployment of diagnostic or test devices. However, the majority of devices today use a simple paper strip to detect a single marker using the reflectance of light. However, for many diseases such as sepsis, one biomarker is not sufficient to make a unique diagnosis. In this work multiple measurements are made on patterned paper simultaneously. Using laser ablation to fabricate microfluidic channels on paper provides a flexible and direct approach for mass manufacture of disposable paper strips. A reusable photodiode array on a complementary metal oxide semiconductor chip is used as the transducer. Results: The system measures changes in optical absorbance in the paper to achieve a cost-effective and easily implemented system that is capable of multiple simultaneous assays. Potential sepsis metabolite biomarkers glucose and lactate have been studied and quantified with the platform, achieving sensitivity within the physiological range in human serum. Conclusion: We have detailed a disposable paper-based CMOS photodiode sensor platform for real-time simultaneous detection of metabolites for diseases such as sepsis. Significance: A combination of a low-cost paper strip with microfluidic channels and a sensitive CMOS photodiode sensor array makes our platform a robust portable and inexpensive biosensing device for multiple diagnostic tests in many different applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To compare rates of persistent postoperative pain (PPP) after lumbar spine surgery—commonly known as Failed Back Surgery Syndrome—and healthcare costs for instrumented lumbar spinal fusion versus decompression/discectomy. Methods: The UK population-based healthcare data from the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) database from NHS Digital and the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) were queried to identify patients with PPP following lumbar spinal surgery. Rates of PPP were calculated by type of surgery (instrumented and non-instrumented). Total healthcare costs associated with the surgery and covering the 24-month period after index hospital discharge were estimated using standard methods for classifying health care encounters into major categories of health care resource utilization (i.e., inpatient hospital stays, outpatient clinic visits, accident and emergency attendances, primary care encounters, and medications prescribed in primary care) and applying the appropriate unit costs (expressed in 2013 GBP). Results: Increasing the complexity of surgery with instrumentation was not associated with an increased rate of PPP. However, 2-year healthcare costs following discharge after surgery are significantly higher among patients who underwent instrumented surgery compared with decompression/discectomy. Conclusions: Although there is a not insubstantial risk of ongoing pain following spine surgery, with 1-in-5 patients experiencing PPP within 2 years of surgery, the underlying indications for surgical modality and related choice of surgical procedure do not, by itself, appear to be a driving factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precision metabolomics and quantification for cost-effective rapid diagnosis of disease are the key goals in personalized medicine and point-of-care testing. At present, patients are subjected to multiple test procedures requiring large laboratory equipment. Microelectronics has already made modern computing and communications possible by integration of complex functions within a single chip. As More than Moore technology increases in importance, integrated circuits for densely patterned sensor chips have grown in significance. Here, we present a versatile single complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor chip forming a platform to address personalized needs through on-chip multimodal optical and electrochemical detection that will reduce the number of tests that patients must take. The chip integrates interleaved sensing subsystems for quadruple-mode colorimetric, chemiluminescent, surface plasmon resonance, and hydrogen ion measurements. These subsystems include a photodiode array and a single photon avalanche diode array with some elements functionalized to introduce a surface plasmon resonance mode. The chip also includes an array of ion sensitive field-effect transistors. The sensor arrays are distributed uniformly over an active area on the chip surface in a scalable and modular design. Bio-functionalization of the physical sensors yields a highly selective simultaneous multiple-assay platform in a disposable format. We demonstrate its versatile capabilities through quantified bio-assays performed on-chip for glucose, cholesterol, urea, and urate, each within their naturally occurring physiological range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the likelihood of persistent postoperative pain (PPP) following reoperation after lumbar surgery and to estimate associated healthcare costs.Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study using two linked UK databases: Hospital Episode Statistics and UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Costs and outcomes associated with reoperation were evaluated over a 2-year postoperative period using multivariate logistic regression for cases who underwent reoperation and controls who did not, based on demographics, index surgery type, smoking status, and pre-index comorbidities using propensity score matching.Results: Risk factors associated with reoperation included younger age and the presence of diabetes with complications or rheumatic disease. The rate of PPP after reoperation was much higher than after index surgery, with 79 of 200 (39.5%; 95% CI 32.5%, 46.5%) participants experiencing ongoing pain compared with 983 of 5022 (19.5%; 95% CI 18.5%, 20.7%) after index surgery. Mean costs in the 2 years following reoperation were £1889 higher (95% CI £2, £3809) than for patients with PPP who did not undergo repeat surgery over an equivalent follow-up period. With the cost of reoperation itself included, the mean cost difference for patients who underwent reoperation compared with matched controls rose to £7221 (95% CI £5273, £9206).Conclusions: High rates of PPP and associated healthcare costs suggest that returning to the operating room is a complex and challenging decision. Spinal surgeons should review whether the potential benefits of additional surgery are justified when other approaches to managing and relieving chronic pain have demonstrated superior outcomes. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Metabolites, the small molecules that underpin life, can act as indicators of the physiological state of the body when their abundance varies, offering routes to diagnosis of many diseases. The ability to assay for multiple metabolites simultaneously will underpin a new generation of precision diagnostic tools. Here, we report the development of a handheld device based on complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology with multiple isolated micro-well reaction zones and integrated optical sensing allowing simultaneous enzyme-based assays of multiple metabolites (choline, xanthine, sarcosine and cholesterol) associated with multiple diseases. These metabolites were measured in clinically relevant concentration range with minimum concentrations measured: 25 μM for choline, 100 μM for xanthine, 1.25 μM for sarcosine and 50 μM for cholesterol. Linking the device to an Android-based user interface allows for quantification of metabolites in serum and urine within 2 min of applying samples to the device. The quantitative performance of the device was validated by comparison to accredited tests for cholesterol and glucose. Highlights • Multiplexed detection of four different metabolite biomarkers using an integrated-circuit-based handheld device with capability to detect and quantify in <2 min. • The metabolites (choline, xanthine, cholesterol and sarcosine), detected in bio-fluids,are implicated in ischaemia and prostate cancer. • The CMOS-chip, with isolated micro-wells, allows metabolite-assays without cross-contamination of assay reagents and signal cross-talk. • A handheld device, with an Android-based user-interface application for phones and tablets, is capable of being powered through a simple micro-USB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The planar Gunn diode offers the potential of microwave, milli‐metric and THz‐based oscillators, which can be fabricated as part of a microwave monolithic integrated circuit (mmic). The paper develops an electrical representation of an aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) based planar Gunn diode with an active channel length of approximately 4 μm and width of 120 μm, embedded in an oscillator circuit. The work indicates a maximum simulated RF output power of +5 dBm compared with published experimental results of −19 dBm for similar diodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have designed, simulated, and experimentally demonstrated four-colour mid-infrared (mid-IR) Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) integrated monolithically into a vertical structure on a semiinsulating GaAs substrate. In order to finely control the peak wavelength of the emitted mid-IR light, quantum well (QW) structures based on AlInSb/InSb/AlInSb are employed. The completed device structure consists of three p-QW-n diodes with different well widths stacked on top of one bulk AlInSb p-i-n diode. The epitaxial layers comprising the device are designed in such a way that one contact layer is shared between two LEDs. The design of the heterostructure realising the multispectral LEDs was aided by numerical modelling, and good agreement is observed between the simulated and experimental results. Electro-Luminescence measurements, carried out at room temperature, confirm that the emission of each LED peaks at a different wavelength. Peak wavelengths of 3.40 lm, 3.50 lm, 3.95 lm, and 4.18 lm are observed in the bulk, 2 nm, 4 nm, and 6 nm quantum well LEDs, respectively. Under zero bias, Fourier Transform Infrared photo-response measurements indicate that these fabricated diodes can also be operated as mid-IR photodetectors with an extended cut-off wavelength up to 4.6 lm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) is now a clinically accepted diagnostic modality in which miniaturized technology, an on-board power supply and wireless telemetry stand as technological foundations for other capsule endoscopy (CE) devices. However, VCE does not provide therapeutic functionality, and research towards therapeutic CE (TCE) has been limited. In this paper, a route towards viable TCE is proposed, based on multiple CE devices including important acoustic sensing and drug delivery components. In this approach, an initial multimodal diagnostic device with high-frequency quantitative microultrasound that complements video imaging allows surface and subsurface visualization and computer-assisted diagnosis. Using focused ultrasound (US) to mark sites of pathology with exogenous fluorescent agents permits follow-up with another device to provide therapy. This is based on an US-mediated targeted drug delivery system with fluorescence imaging guidance. An additional device may then be utilized for treatment verification and monitoring, exploiting the minimally invasive nature of CE. While such a theranostic patient pathway for gastrointestinal treatment is presently incomplete, the description in this paper of previous research and work under way to realize further components for the proposed pathway suggests it is feasible and provides a framework around which to structure further work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial overlap between the electromagnetic fields and the analytes is a key factor for strong light-matter interaction leading to high sensitivity for label-free refractive index sensing. Usually, the overlap and therefore the sensitivity are limited by either the localized near field of plasmonic antennas or the decayed resonant mode outside the cavity applied to monitor the refractive index variation. In this paper, by constructing a metal microstructure array-dielectric-metal (MDM) structure, a novel metamaterial absorber integrated microfluidic (MAIM) sensor is proposed and demonstrated in terahertz (THz) range, where the dielectric layer of the MDM structure is hollow and acts as the microfluidic channel. Tuning the electromagnetic parameters of metamaterial absorber, greatly confined electromagnetic fields can be obtained in the channel resulting in significantly enhanced interaction between the analytes and the THz wave. A high sensitivity of 3.5 THz/RIU is predicted. The experimental results of devices working around 1 THz agree with the simulation ones well. The proposed idea to integrate metamaterial and microfluid with a large light-matter interaction can be extended to other frequency regions and has promising applications in matter detection and biosensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a contactless, acoustic technique to manipulate and sort particles of varying size in both liquid and air media. An acoustic standing wave is generated by the superposition of counterpropagating waves emitted by two opposing emitters. The acoustic radiation force traps the smallest particles at the pressure nodes of the acoustic standing wave. The position of the particles can be manipulated by dynamically changing the phase difference between the two emitters. By applying a dynamic acoustic field (DAF), it is demonstrated that particles can be manipulated spatially and sorted according to size. The discrimination (sorting dynamic range) capability is initially demonstrated in liquid media by separating three different sets of polystyrene particles, ranging in size from 5 to 45~\mu \textm in diameter. The separation between particles was performed up to a ratio of 5/6 in diameter (20% diameter difference). Finally, the scalability of the DAF method is demonstrated by sorting expanded polystyrene particles of 2 and 5 mm diameter in air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the development and optical characterization of a planar medium infrared (mid-IR) InSb photodetector on a GaAs substrate technology, capable of integrating MESFETs, to demonstrate a new active pixel device architecture. Our results pave the way for the development of integrated mid-IR focal plane array circuits on a single chip. Device structures with areas down to 0.0016 mm $^{{ {2}}}$ were investigated. By deploying a silicon nitride passivation layer, we were able to reduce leakage current in reverse bias by up to 27% to yield an improved rectifier. Extensive optical characterization was carried out in the near- and mid-IR wavelength range. Responsivities of up to 3.54 A/W and quantum efficiency values above unity were obtained in the near-IR range as a consequence of illumination above the bandgap causing impact ionization. In the mid-IR range, responsivities of up to 0.97 A/W were observed. The bandwidth of the devices proved compatible with video-rate standard sampling rates. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Questions Ungulate herbivory and formation of large termite mounds occur over different time scales, but both can affect plant community composition in savannas. Human-managed savanna systems are increasingly dominated by domesticated grazing herbivores. These have replaced a mix of indigenous browsers and grazers, leading to changes in plant communities such as increased bush encroachment. We compared the relative impacts of five decades of different types of ungulate herbivory (cattle grazing, browsing and grazing by wild herbivores, and exclusion of all larger herbivores) on woody plant assemblages in two habitats, namely, large termite mounds, which may be thousands of years old, and the surrounding matrix. Location Miombo woodland savanna, Zimbabwe. Methods To determine the influence of termite mounds and herbivory on spatial distribution and composition of woody assemblages, we compared 40 paired mound-matrix plots from the three herbivory treatments using PERMANOVA. We assessed whether mound plots were more similar to each other than matrix plots were to each other, and whether herbivory influenced similarity. We used SIMPER analysis to identify changes in abundance of indicator species for each habitat (i.e. mound or matrix). Results Species composition differed significantly between mound and matrix and also between herbivory treatments. Woody plant assemblages on mounds were more similar to each other than woody plant assemblages in matrix plots were to each other, regardless of type of herbivory, but herbivory reduced the mound/matrix contrast. Sample location (i.e. on mound or in matrix) explained 23% of the variation in woody species composition, compared to 12% explained by herbivory. Woody plant abundance was lowest where there were both grazers and browsers. Conclusions The influence of large termite mounds on plant assemblages was roughly double that of herbivory, which has occurred over five decades. Type of herbivory emerged as relatively influential on woody plant species composition, given that the time periods involved were short by comparison to the slow formation of termite mounds. Type of herbivory also influenced species composition and vegetation structure, with a diversity of herbivores necessary to reduce encroachment by woody species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new chlorine-free dry etching process which was used to successfully etch indium antimonide grown on gallium arsenide substrates while keeping the substrate temperature below 150 °C. By use of a reflowed photoresist mask a sidewall with 60 degree positive slope was achieved, whereas a nearly vertical one was obtained when hard masks were used. Long etch tests demonstrated the non-selectivity of the process by etching through the entire multi-layer epitaxial structure. Electrical and optical measurements on devices fabricated both by wet and dry etch techniques provided similar results, proving that the dry etch process does not cause damage to the material. This technique has a great potential to replace the standard wet etching techniques used for fabrication of indium antimonide devices with a non-damaging low temperature plasma process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]