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In the Tx timesharing for universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) and global system for mobile communications 1Tx-2Rx dual-SIM dual-active (DSDA) scenario, UMTS UMTS enhanced uplink (EUL) had performance degradation due to discontinuous transmission. Therefore, the code rate-based mitigation scheme was evaluated to reduce the performance degradation. Even though this scheme had significant gain, high complexity implementation was required. Thus, the boost power-based mitigation scheme is proposed and analysed from the throughput improvement and implementation complexity point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellular traction force is one of the important factors for understanding cell behaviors, such as spreading, migration and differentiation. Cells are known to change their behavior according to the mechanical stiffness of the environment. However, the measurement of cell traction forces on a rigid environment has remained difficult. This paper reports a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) force plate that provides a cellular traction force measurement on a rigid substrate. Both the high force sensitivity and high stiffness of the substrate were obtained using piezoresistive sensing elements. The proposed force plate consists of a 70 µm  ×  15 µm  ×  5 µm base as the substrate for cultivating a bovine aortic smooth muscle cell, and the supporting beams with piezoresistors on the sidewall and the surface were used to measure the forces in both the horizontal and vertical directions. The spring constant and force resolution of the fabricated force plate in the horizontal direction were 0.2 N m−1 and less than 0.05 µN, respectively. The cell traction force was measured, and the traction force increased by approximately 1 µN over 30 min. These results demonstrate that the proposed force plate is applicable as an effective traction force measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport and magnetic properties of compacted LaMnO3+d manganite nanoparticles of an average size of 18 nm have been investigated in the temperature range 5-300 K. The nanoparticles exhibit a paramagnetic-to-ferromagnetic (FM) transition at the Curie temperature TC [?] 246 K. However, the spontaneous magnetization disappears at a higher temperature of about 270 K. It was found that at low temperatures the FM core occupies about 50% of the particle volume. The temperature dependence of the resistivity shows a metal-insulator transition and a low-temperature upturn below the resistivity minimum at T [?] 50 K. The transport at low temperatures is controlled by the charging energy and spin-dependent tunnelling through grain boundaries. It has been found that the charging energy decreases monotonically with increasing magnetic field. The low temperature I-V characteristics are well described by an indirect tunnelling model while at higher temperatures both direct and resonant tunnelling dominates. The experimental features are discussed in the framework of a granular ferromagnet model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is desirable to control the sex of embryo transfer offspring in the dairy industry. The relationship between estrous behavior, superovulatory response, and embryo sex ratio after superovulation has not been investigated. The objective of the present study was to compare estrous behavior, superovulatory response, and sex ratio of embryos resulting from superstimulated donors in herds in which the female ratio was naturally high (>50%, FR-H, n = 9) or low (d50%, FR-L, n = 7). Holstein heifers (14 to 18 months of age, n = 16) were given decreasing doses of FSH IM (total of 28 Armour units, Antrin R-10; Kawasaki-Mitaka, Kanagawa, Japan) twice daily for 4 days between Days 8 and 10 of the estrous cycle. Five (25 mg) and 3 (15 mg) mL of dinoprost (PGF; Veterinary Pronalgon; Pfizer Animal Health, Tokyo, Japan) were administered IM with the seventh and eighth FSH treatments, respectively. The length of estrus and numbers of standing mounts were determined by an electric heatmount sensor (HeatWatch; Comtec Co. Ltd., Miyazaki, Japan), which was attached to the tailhead of the animals. Heifers received 50 g of GnRH IM (fertirelin acetate; Conceral; Schering-Plough Animal Health KK, Tokyo, Japan) 48 h after the first PGF treatment, and were inseminated with frozen–thawed semen into the uterine body 12 and 24 h later. Seven-day embryos were recovered nonsurgically and Grade 1 embryos (IETS classification) were selected for this study. Male and female embryos were identified using the loop-mediated isothermal amplification procedure (Hirayama et al. 2004 Theriogenology 62, 887–896). The data (mean SEM) were compared with Fisher''s protected least significant difference test following ANOVA. Mean values for female sex ratio in FR-H and FR-L embryos were 72.2 4.6% (32/46) and 30.6 7.1% (23/68), respectively (P < 0.01). The duration of estrus in the FR-H group (13 h 10 min 3 h 51 min) was shorter than that of the FR-L group (24 h 51 min 6 h 32 min; P < 0.05). Moreover, the numbers of standing mounts in the FR-H group (27.8 5.9) were less than in the FR-L group (75.0 18.5; P < 0.05). Although the mean number of ova/embryos collected from FR-H heifers (8.4 1.0) was significantly less than from FR-L heifers (19.7 3.1; P < 0.05), the percentage of Grade 1 embryos did not differ (63.7 8.2%, 46/76 vs. 54.5 8.3%, 68/138, respectively; P > 0.05). In summary, superstimulated heifers from the FR-H herd had a shorter duration of estrus, a lower superovulatory response, and a higher proportion of female embryos than heifers from the FR-L herd. However, data do not demonstrate a cause and effect relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We investigated the clinical outcome of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) which has not been fully established in diabetic patients with critical limb Ischaemia (CLI) compared with non-diabetics. Design and patients: A total of 73 limbs of 52 patients (50 limbs of 34 diabetic patients and 23 limbs of 18 non-diabetics) who underwent PTA for CLI (Rutherford-Becker category 4, 5 or 6) were enrolled. Rates of amputation and restenosis, and ankle brachial index (ABI), were assessed before and after PTA during a 36-month followup period. Results: Diabetic patients had a higher rate of major amputations after PTA (10 vs. 0 %, P < 0.05); however, total amputation (12.0 vs. 8.7 %, P = 0.62) and restenosis rates (4.0 vs. 8.7 %, P = 0.38) were not significantly different compared with nondiabetic patients. ABI at 3 months after PTA was significantly improved in both diabetic and nondiabetic patients (0.70 ± 0.20 vs. 0.93 ± 0.19, P < 0.01 in diabetic patients; 0.69 ± 0.25 vs. 0.92 ± 0.17, P < 0.01 in non-diabetics). Improved ABI was maintained for 36 months in both groups and did not show a significant difference (0.88 ± 0.21 vs. 0.89 ± 0.20, P = 0.89). Conclusion: Our results, showing that the outcome of PTA in diabetic patients is not inferior to that in non-diabetics, suggest the potential benefit of primary PTA, instead of bypass surgery, for CLI in diabetic patients who are at high risk of perioperative complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on the production of bio-oil from alfalfa stem material. Two alfalfa maturity stages, harvested at the early bud and full flower stages of development, were examined to evaluate the impact of variation in cell wall polysaccharide and lignin content on pyrolysis oil yields, production efficiency, and bio-oil and char quality, in terms of their use as combustion fuel and for chemicals. Findings included a lower-than-average yield of bio-oil and a higher-than-average yield of charcoal from alfalfa stems, compared to previous results for other biomass feedstocks. The bio-oil showed a decrease in oxygen content from the alfalfa stems, leading to a higher-than-average energy content in the bio-oil. Bio-oil yields were slightly higher for the more-mature alfalfa, which had higher levels of cell wall cellulose and lignin. Overall, when all the pyrolysis products were considered, energy recovery was better for the more-mature alfalfa stems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on in vitro maturation (IVM) of canine oocytes has been scant, due to the fact that canine oocytes are at an immature stage (geminal vesicle stage) during ovulation. The most commonly used protein source for IVM of canine oocytes is fetal bovine serum (FBS), estrus bitch serum (EBS), or bovine serum albumin (BSA). However, the IVM rate of canine oocytes is still low. One of the reasons may be that the culture medium is not appropriate enough for canine oocytes in IVM. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of four different protein sources, BSA, FBS, EBS, and newborn canine serum (NBCS), on IVM of canine oocytes. The NBCS was collected from 3 puppies that had induced euthanasia within 30 min after delivery. The entire volume of blood was collected by heart puncture, through which an 18 G needle was attached to a 10-mL sterile plastic syringe (without anticoagulant), and then transferred into a 10-mL plastic conical tube. The samples were stored overnight at 4C to allow clotting to occur. To separate the serum, the sample was centrifuged for 10 min at 3000 rpm; the NBCS was heat inactivated at 56C for 30 min and stored at -70C for later use. Ovaries were collected from various stages of the estrous cycle by ovariohysterectomy, and the oocytes collected were cultured in NCSU37 supplemented with 1 mg mL-1 cysteine, 0.2 mM pyruvic acid, 20 g mL-1 E2, and various protein sources (0.3% BSA, 10% FBS, 10% EBS, and 10% NBCS) at 38.5C, 5% CO2 in air for 72 h. Cumulus cells were removed from around oocytes using a small glass pipette. Denuded oocytes were then fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde supplemented with 10 g mL-1 Hoechst 33342 at room temperature for 40 min. Nuclear status was observed using fluorescence under a UV light. The proportion of oocytes at the MII stage was significantly higher in the NBCS group than in the EBS, FBS, and BSA groups (14.6 vs. 10.4, 8.8, and 3.3%; P < 0.05). These results indicate that the supplementation of NBCS in IVM medium can enhanced the development of canine oocytes to the MII stage.This work was supported by KOSEF (Grant M10525010003-05N2501-00310) and ARPC (Grant 203121-03-2-SB010). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the doping dependence of flux pinning in superconducting NaFeCoxAs (x = 0.01, 0.03, 0.05 and 0.07) single crystals grown by the Bridgman method. The electronic specific heat displays a pronounced anomaly in a sample series at superconducting transition temperature, which hardly shows any residual part at low temperature. We found that Co doping plays an important role in signifying the secondary peak in the magnetic hysteresis of optimally doped (x = 0.03) and heavily doped (x = 0.05, 0.07) crystals. Furthermore, the dependence of the relaxation rate S = ∣d ln M/d ln t∣ on magnetic field and temperature exhibits a decreasing trend within a certain range corresponding to the secondary peak effect in the optimally and heavily doped samples. The magnetic relaxation rate combined with the Maley analysis of the current-dependent creep energy shows a single-vortex pinning in the lightly doped sample dominant at low applied fields, and plastic pinning at high applied fields, without showing a secondary peak. However, in the optimally and heavily doped samples, the magnetic relaxation rate and U(J) isothermal analysis show that the collective pinning that dominates below Hpeak crosses over to plastic pinning for fields above Hpeak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric noise can be an important limitation for applications of conducting elements in the nanometer size range. The intrinsic electrical noise of prospective materials for opto-spintronics applications like ZnO has not yet been characterized. In this study, we have investigated the conductivity fluctuations in 10 nm thick current paths produced by proton implantation of ZnO microwires at room temperature. The voltage noise under a constant dc current bias in undoped, as well as in Li-doped microwires, is characterized by power spectra with . The noise intensity scales with the square of the bias current pointing to bias-independent resistivity fluctuations as a source of the observed noise. The normalized power spectral density appears inversely proportional to the number of carriers in the probed sample volume, in agreement with the phenomenological Hooge law. For the proton-implanted ZnO microwire and at 1 Hz we obtain a normalized power spectral density as low as Hz−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is necessary to control the sex ratio (percentage of females) of pre-implantation embryos in the dairy industry. Several studies indicate that, in cattle, varying insemination time does not influence the embryo sex ratio (Rorie et al. 1999 Theriogenology 52, 1273–1280). However, it has been suggested that insemination early in estrus would result in more females, and late in estrus, more males, due to different timing of capacitation and survival of X- and Y-chromosome-bearing spermatozoa in the female reproductive tract (Martinez et al. 2004 Theriogenology 62, 1264–1270). The objective of the present study was to examine whether the time of insemination affects the sex of 7-day embryos in superstimulated Holstein heifers. Donor heifers (14 to 18 months of age, n = 38) were given decreasing doses of FSH IM (total of 28 Armour units, Antrin R-10; Kawasaki-Mitaka, Kanagawa, Japan) twice daily for 4 days between Days 8 and 10 of the estrous cycle. Five (25 mg) and 3 (15 mg) mL of dinoprost (PGF; Veterinary Pronalgon; Pfizer Animal Health, Tokyo, Japan) were administered IM with the seventh and eighth FSH treatments, respectively. The heifers received 50 g of fertirelin acetate IM (GnRH; Conceral; Schering-Plough Animal Health KK, Tokyo, Japan) 48 h after the first PGF treatment. Heifers were inseminated with 2 straws of frozen–thawed semen into the uterine body at 48 h (n = 18), 60 h (n = 10), or 60 + 72 h (n = 10; control) after the first PGF treatment. In this study, frozen–thawed semen from several bulls was used. Seven-day embryos were recovered by uterine flushing. Grade 1 embryos (IETS classification) were selected for male and female separation using the loop-mediated isothermal amplification procedure. The data (mean SEM) were compared with Fisher''s protected least significant difference test following ANOVA. The mean number of ova/embryos recovered was 12.1 1.9 (48 h), 12.8 2.8 (60 h), and 11.0 1.6 (60 + 72 h). There were no significant differences in the percentages of unfertilized ova (48 h: 6.9 2.1%, 15/218; 60 h: 7.8 3.2%, 17/128; and 60 + 72 h: 10.0 3.6%, 11/111; P > 0.05) and in grade 1 embryos (48 h: 61.2 4.9%, 124/218; 60 h: 64.9 7.9%, 65/128; and 60 + 72 h: 59.1 4.8%, 66/111; P > 0.05) among groups. Furthermore, the female ratio of grade 1 embryos was not significantly different for the 3 insemination times (48 h: 50.0 5.8%, 56/124; 60 h: 48.4 5.0%, 33/65; and 60 + 72 h: 52.2 8.0%, 36/66; P > 0.05). These results indicate that a single early insemination during estrus does not reduce the fertilization rate and embryo quality in superstimulated Holstein heifers. Also, the time of insemination did not appear to have any effect on the sex ratio of embryos from these heifers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic and structural properties of Nb-doped CaMnO3 have been studied and the effect of doping with 0.02  ⩽  x  ⩽  0.1 has been investigated. Substitution of Nb5+ ion for the Mn4+ site of the parent matrix causes one-electron doping with the chemical formula , accompanied by a monotonous increase of the lattice parameters, unit-cell volume, average Mn–O bond distance and a decrease in Mn–O–Mn bond angle, with increasing x. Low temperature magnetic ground state of CaMn1−xNbxO3 has been found to be dependent on niobium doping level. The ground magnetic state evolves from mostly antiferromagnetic, with a weak ferromagnetic component for x = 0.02–0.08, to charge ordered C-type antiferromagnetic state at x = 0.1. Spontaneous magnetization increases sharply with increasing doping level, approaches a maximal value of 4.1 emu g−1 at T = 10 K for x = 0.08, and then decreases rapidly to reach a very small value of 0.2 emu g−1 for x = 0.1. Anomalous negative magnetization behavior below the magnetic transition temperature has been observed for the compound with x = 0.04 in the field cooled magnetization and remanent dc magnetization measurements. Vertical and horizontal shifts of the hysteresis loop of the field cooled sample have been observed for CaMn0.9Nb0.1O3 as possible signatures of the exchange bias effect. The effect of hydrostatic pressure on dc magnetization for the sample with x  >  0.02 revealed a significant increase of the ferromagnetic phase volume under pressure, linked to progressive suppression of a negative magnetization in x = 0.04 sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]