Replica Designer Watches

2013-12-05

First global snapshot of key coral reef fishes: Fishing has reduced vital seaweed eaters by more than 50 percent

Beyond their natural beauty and tourist-attraction qualities, coral reefs offer economic value estimated at billions of dollars for societies around the world. Scripps Master's student Clinton Edwards, his advisor Jennifer Smith, and their colleagues at the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps, along with scientists from several international institutions, have pieced together the first global synthesis on the state of plant-eating fish at coral reef sites around the world. These herbivorous fish populations are vital to coral reef health due to their role in consuming seaweed, making them known informally as the "lawnmowers" of the reef. Without the lawnmowers, seaweeds can overgrow and out-compete corals, drastically affecting the reef ecosystem.

Among their findings, the researchers found that populations of plant-eating fish declined by more than half in areas that were fished compared with unfished sites.

"One of the most significant findings from this study is that we show compelling evidence that fishing is impacting some of the most important species on coral reefs," said Smith. "We generally tend to think of fishing impacting larger pelagic fishes such as tuna but here we see big impacts on smaller reef fish as well and particularly the herbivores. This is particularly important because corals and algae are always actively competing against one another for space and the herbivores actively remove algae and allow the corals to be competitively dominant. Without herbivores, weedy algae can take over the reef landscape. We need to focus more on protecting this key group of fishes around the globe if we hope to have healthy and productive reefs in the future."

"While these reef fish are not generally commercial fisheries targets," said Edwards, "there is clear evidence from this study that fishing is impacting their populations globally." Edwards, a UC San Diego graduate, recently completed his Masters thesis at Scripps where he said his experience and the opportunities he was given to conduct research were unparalleled.

The researchers also found that fishing alters the entire structure of the herbivore fish community, reducing the numbers of large-bodied feeding groups such as "grazers" and "excavators" while boosting numbers of smaller species such as algae-farming territorial damselfishes that enhance damaging algae growth.

"These results show that fished reefs may be lacking the ability to provide specific functions needed to sustain reef health," said Edwards.

"We are shifting the herbivore community from one that's dominated by large-bodied individuals to one that's dominated by many small fish," said Smith. "The biomass is dramatically altered. If you dive in Jamaica you are going to see lots of tiny herbivores because fishers remove them before they reach adulthood. In contrast, if you go to an unfished location in the central Pacific the herbivore community is dominated by large roving parrotfishes and macroalgal grazers that perform many important ecosystem services for reefs."

The authors argue that such evidence from their assessment should be used in coral reef management and conservation, offering regional managers data to show whether key herbivores are fished down too low and when they've successfully recovered in marine protected areas.

"This assessment allows us to set management goals in different regions across the globe," said Smith. "Regional managers can use these data as a baseline to set targets to develop herbivore-specific fisheries management areas. We should be using these important fish as a tool for reef restoration. On reefs where seaweed is actively growing over reefs, what better way to remove that seaweed than to bring back those consumers, those lawnmowers?"

In addition to Edwards and Smith, coauthors include Brian Zgliczynski and Stuart Sandin from Scripps; Alan Friedlander of the U.S. Geological Survey; Allison Green of the Nature Conservancy; Marah Hardt of OceanInk; Enric Sala of the National Geographic Society; Hugh Sweatman of the Australian Institute of Marine Science; and Ivor Williams of the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.

The research was supported by the National Science Foundation and NOAA through the Comparative Analysis of Marine Ecosystem Organization (CAMEO) program.

Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

We have built up long term business relationship with about many companies which are stockers and authorized agents. we have a steady and reliable supply to meet customer's demands to the greatest extent .Confidently, we are able to lower your cost and support your business with our years of professional service.

SUV System Ltd is Electronic Components Distributor Supplies,Find Quality Electronic Components Supplies Products IC(Integrated Circuits),Connectors,Capacitor,Resistors,Diodes,Transistors,LED at Suvsystem.com. Sourcing Other Energy, Environment, Excess Inventory Products from Manufacturers and Suppliers at Suvsystem.com

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

SUV System Ltd insists on the managing faith ofsincereness,speciality,foresight, win-win,so we build up stable-relationship customers located all over the world, including the States, Europe, Argentina, UAE, Malaysia, Australia,and India etc

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.

Rectifier Diodes Freescale Semiconductor Discrete Semiconductor Transistors ON Diodes Diodes MAXIM IC Industrial IC INTERSIL IC Fleld Effect Transistors NS IC Dialight LED IR transistor Switching Diodes Connectors TDK IC Fairchild Semiconductor Transistors ELPIDA IC Thin Film Resistors Capacitor Bipolar Transistors Electronic News NXP Diodes IR Diodes chip Filter saws Civil IC PANASONIC Resistors LED AD IC NEC Diodes Resistors Infineon Technologies Transistors AGILENT LED Schottky Diodes Voltage Regulators Transistors Kingbrigt LED TOSHIBA Diodes Resistor Networks Current Sensors Resistors Transistors FAIRCHILD diodes
http://www.suvsystem.com/a/7629.aspx

Business Sony, Renesas pursue fab deal

2013/12/04

Sony is talking about buying Renesas’ Tsuruoka fab to make CMOS image sensors, reports Japan’s Nikkei newspaper.

Sony’s semiconductor sales are expected to fall 28% this year to $4.4 billion and 77% of the company’s chip sales are accounted for by sensors.

The company has earmarked $585 million for investment in its chip business this financial year. The Renesas fab will cost about $100 million. It employs 900 people.

The alternative to buying the Renesas fab is to invest the $100 million in Sony’s own fabs.

Sony is making a big push in CMOS image sensors where it sees great opportunities.

Sony’s new CEO Kaz Hirai said last year: “We can leverage our technology base in image-capturing sensors, lenses, 3D technology, image processing, to mention just a few areas. Those are areas where we already have in-house technologies that really allow us to differentiate ourselves.”

Hirai said that Sony will speed up development of its CMOS technology and seek new products in which CMOS can be used. He emphasized medical equipment products as a key market for its image sensors where people will pay for outstanding quality.

Sony is engaged with Imec in a project developing core CMOS technology which, earlier this year, announced the world’s first functioning CMOS compatible III-V FinFET device processed on silicon wafers.

It is thought that a deal for the Tsuruoka fab will be signed next week.

Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.

2013-12-04

Business 4.4% semi growth this year and next, says WSTS

2013/12/04

WSTS Forecast Summary - Dec 13

WSTS Forecast Summary

The semiconductor market is forecast to hit $304 billion in 2013, up 4.4% from 2012, says WSTS, which contrasts with the IHS forecast of 5% growth this year to $318 billion.

WSTS says the growth is mainly driven by the double digit growth of memory.

All regions except Japan will grow. The Japanese market is forecasted to decline in dollars due to steep Japanese Yen depreciation.

In 2014 and 2015 the market is expected to grow 4.4% and 3.4% respectively to $317 billion in 2014 and $328 billion in 2015.

Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.

Diodes Switches LINEAR IC Xilinx IC YAGEO Resistors Capacitor ROHM Resistors NXP Diodes Chip Inductors Fast Recovery Diodes NEC Transistors Other Parts ST Transistors HARRIS IC High Precision Resistors Infineon Technologies Transistors INFLNEON Diodes Resistor Networks MURATA IC Ligitek LED AVX Resistors Atmel IC About US Diodes Inc NXP Transistors Transistors Cypress IC Renesas parts IC ELPIDA IC Thick Film Resistors Current Sensors Resistors components Vishay resistors Zener Diodes BB IC NEC Diodes AGILENT LED TOSHIBA Diodes SANYO IC Fleld Effect Transistors
http://www.suvsystem.com/a/7623.aspx

Business PC sales to fall 10% this year

2013/12/04

PC sales will fall 10% this year, says IDC, and by nearly 4% next year.

This year the commercial PC market is falling 5% and the consumer PC market is falling 15%.

“Perhaps the chief concern for future PC demand is a lack of reasons to replace an older system,” says IDC’s Jay Chou, “while IDC research finds that the PC still remains the primary computing device – for example, PCs are used more hours per day than tablets or phones – PC usage is nonetheless declining each year as more devices become available. And despite industry efforts, PC usage has not moved significantly beyond consumption and productivity tasks to differentiate PCs from other devices. As a result, PC lifespans continue to increase, thereby limiting market growth.”

2-in-1 devices – many of which will run Windows – along with Windows-based tablets are expected to provide some new volume for Windows.

The Windows-based tablet market is expected to grow to 39.3 million units in 2017 from less than 7.5 million in 2013 and less than 1 million in 2011.

However, relative to a PC market size of roughly 300 million units, these Windows tablets would add just a couple percent a year relative to PC growth.

Windows devices are projected to account for 10% of a combined PC & Windows Tablet market by 2016.

Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.

Expedition yields unexpected clues to ocean mysteries

Co-chief scientists Jonathan Snow from UH and Kathryn Gillis from University of Victoria in Canada led a team of 30 researchers from around the world on the $10 million expedition, finding a few surprises upon penetrating the lower crust of the Pacific. Their findings are described in the Dec. 1 issue of Nature in a paper titled "Primitive Layered Gabbros from Fast-Spreading Lower Oceanic Crust."

"The ocean crust makes up two-thirds of the Earth's surface and forms from volcanic magma at mid-ocean ridge spreading centers," Snow said. "The deepest levels of this process are hidden from view due to the miles of upper volcanic crust on top. So, until now we had to make educated guesses about the formation of the lower crust based on seismic evidence and the study of analogous rocks found on land."

Traveling aboard the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 345 to the Hess Deep in the Pacific Ocean, the scientific voyagers recovered core sections of lower crustal rocks, called gabbros, that formed more than two miles beneath the sea floor. A large rift valley in the eastern equatorial Pacific, the Hess Deep is like an onion sliced and pulled apart, revealing its deeper layers.

"Hess Deep is like a window into the lower crust of the ocean, where we can drill directly into these lower crustal levels," Snow said. "This is where magma rising up from the Earth's mantle begins to crystallize on its way to eventual eruption at the sea floor."

The two-month expedition, aboard the drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution, confirmed for the first time the widespread existence of layered gabbros in the lower crust. This observation had been predicted by plate tectonic theory and analogies made to fragments of ocean crust found on land, called ophiolites, but only rarely had actual layered rocks been recovered from the ocean floor.

A second surprise discovered by the explorers was akin to "finding gold in a silver mine," according to Snow. By studying thin slices of the gabbros under polarizing microscopes, the scientists identified substantial amounts of the mineral orthopyroxene, a magnesium silicate that was thought to be absent from the lower crust.

"Orthopyroxene by itself is nothing special. Traces of it are often found at late stages of crystallization higher in the crust, but we never in our wildest dreams expected a lot of it in the lower crust," Snow said. "Although this mineral is not economically valuable, the discovery means that basic chemical reactions forming the lower crust will now have to be re-studied."

A third surprise, Snow says, casts doubt on one of the main theories of the construction of the lower ocean crust. It involved the mineral olivine, also a magnesium silicate. This mineral is known to grow in delicate crystals sometimes found in layered intrusions on land, but never expected in the ocean crust. This is because the separation of the tectonic plates was thought to deform the magma like play dough in a partially molten state that would have broken them up. However, Snow says, the last word isn't written on this, because the researchers just cored a small section of the crust in one place on this expedition. To know for sure, they will have to explore the lower crust more, which will require drilling.

The fourth phase of ocean drilling, to be called the "International Ocean Discovery Program," was approved in late November by the National Science Board (NSB). The NSB is the governing board of the National Science Foundation and is responsible for guiding the pursuit of national policies for promoting research and education in science and engineering.

Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.

Voltage Regulators Transistors SANYO IC Low Ohmic Resistors Rectifier Diodes INTERSIL IC Electronic News Switching Diodes Other Parts ELPIDA IC AD IC Chip Ferrite Beads High Precision Resistors NXP Diodes Schottky Diodes Switches Atmel IC Metal Can Packages Transistors Infineon Technologies Transistors AGILENT LED NXP Transistors INFLNEON Diodes About US LED BB IC Chip Fuses HARRIS IC Resistors chip Filter saws Transistors Diodes Inc Renesas parts IC Capacitor Fairchild Semiconductor Transistors Cypress IC MAXIM IC IR transistor Kingbrigt LED PANASONIC Civil IC Dialight LED
http://www.suvsystem.com/a/7617.aspx

'Spooky action' builds a wormhole between 'entangled' quantum particles

Physicists at the University of Washington and Stony Brook University in New York believe the phenomenon might be intrinsically linked with wormholes, hypothetical features of space-time that in popular science fiction can provide a much-faster-than-light shortcut from one part of the universe to another.

But here's the catch: One couldn't actually travel, or even communicate, through these wormholes, said Andreas Karch, a UW physics professor.

Quantum entanglement occurs when a pair or a group of particles interact in ways that dictate that each particle's behavior is relative to the behavior of the others. In a pair of entangled particles, if one particle is observed to have a specific spin, for example, the other particle observed at the same time will have the opposite spin.

The "spooky" part is that, as past research has confirmed, the relationship holds true no matter how far apart the particles are -- across the room or across several galaxies. If the behavior of one particle changes, the behavior of both entangled particles changes simultaneously, no matter how far away they are.

Recent research indicated that the characteristics of a wormhole are the same as if two black holes were entangled, then pulled apart. Even if the black holes were on opposite sides of the universe, the wormhole would connect them.

Black holes, which can be as small as a single atom or many times larger than the sun, exist throughout the universe, but their gravitational pull is so strong that not even light can escape from them.

If two black holes were entangled, Karch said, a person outside the opening of one would not be able to see or communicate with someone just outside the opening of the other.

"The way you can communicate with each other is if you jump into your black hole, then the other person must jump into his black hole, and the interior world would be the same," he said.

The work demonstrates an equivalence between quantum mechanics, which deals with physical phenomena at very tiny scales, and classical geometry -- "two different mathematical machineries to go after the same physical process," Karch said. The result is a tool scientists can use to develop broader understanding of entangled quantum systems.

"We've just followed well-established rules people have known for 15 years and asked ourselves, 'What is the consequence of quantum entanglement?'"

Karch is a co-author of a paper describing the research, published in November in Physical Review Letters. Kristan Jensen of Stony Brook, a coauthor, did the work while at the University of Victoria, Canada. Funding came from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.

ALTERA IC Chip Inductors IR transistor BB IC Switching Diodes Fleld Effect Transistors Renesas parts IC AD IC Fairchild Semiconductor Transistors ELPIDA IC Rectifier Diodes AVX Resistors Chip Ferrite Beads Schottky Diodes Military IC Resistor Networks Resistor Arrays Microchip IC HARRIS IC TDK IC PANASONIC Chip Fuses Atmel IC MOTOROLA IC ST Transistors Infineon Technologies Transistors LITTELFUSE Diodes INTERSIL IC ON Transistors Zener Diodes NS IC Resistors ON Diodes High Precision Resistors MAXIM IC Dialight LED chip Filter saws TOSHIBA Transistors Electronic News DIODES Transistors
http://www.suvsystem.com/a/7612.aspx

Manufacturing new gut to treat GI diseases

Dec. 3, 2013 — For those living with gastrointestinal disorders, such as ulcers or Crohn's disease, treatment often means quelling uncomfortable symptoms through medications or dietary changes. But what if one day treatment meant doing away with the old gut for a new gut free of inflamed or diseased tissues?

Share This:

That is where scientists at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are hoping their new study findings will lead. In their work, the researchers were able to grow extensive numbers of intestinal stem cells, then coax them to develop into different types of mature intestinal cells.

The study is published online in this month's Nature Methods.

"Being able to produce a large inventory of intestinal stem cells could be incredibly useful for stem cell therapy, where the cells could be delivered to patients to treat diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis," said Jeffrey Karp, PhD, Division of Biomedical Engineering, BWH Department of Medicine, co-senior study author. "These cells could also be useful for pharmaceutical companies to screen and identify new drugs that could regulate diseases from inflammatory bowel disease, to diabetes, to obesity. However, to date there hasn't been a way to expand intestinal stem cell numbers."

In the "crypts" of the human gut are immature adult stem cells that live alongside specialized cells called Paneth cells. The stem cells remain immature as long as they remain in contact with Paneth cells. But the researchers found that when Paneth cells are removed and replaced with two small molecules involved in cell signaling, these molecules could direct the stem cells to develop into pure populations of proliferating stem cells. By introducing other molecules to the mix, the pure cells could further develop into specialized mature intestinal cells.

"This is an opportunity to generate a large number of relevant mature gastrointestinal cell types that was not possible before and enable high-throughput screening using these cell types," said Xiaolei Yin, PhD, Center for Regenerative Therapeutics, BWH Department of Medicine, lead study author.

Moreover, the researchers note that their findings could be potentially applied for in vivo use of small molecule drugs to help regenerate cells to replace damaged gut tissue caused by disease.

"This opens the door to doing all kinds of things, ranging from someday engineering a new gut for patients with intestinal diseases to doing drug screening for safety and efficacy," said Robert Langer, ScD, MIT, co-senior study author.

Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.

Tongue-drive wheelchair works better than sip-and-puff system

Dec. 3, 2013 — After a diving accident left Jason DiSanto paralyzed from the neck down in 2009, he had to learn how to navigate life from a powered wheelchair, which he controls with a sip-and-puff system. Users sip or puff air into a straw mounted on their wheelchair to execute four basic commands that drive the chair. But results from a new clinical study offer hope that sip-and-puff users like DiSanto could gain a higher level of independence than offered by this common assistive technology.

Share This:

In the study, individuals with paralysis were able to use a tongue-controlled technology to access computers and execute commands for their wheelchairs at speeds that were significantly faster than those recorded in sip-and-puff wheelchairs, but with equal accuracy. This study is the first to show that the wireless and wearable Tongue Drive System outperforms sip-and-puff in controlling wheelchairs. Sip-and-puff is the most popular assistive technology for controlling a wheelchair.

The Tongue Drive System is controlled by the position of the user's tongue. A magnetic tongue stud lets them use their tongue as a joystick to drive the wheelchair. Sensors in the tongue stud relay the tongue's position to a headset, which then executes up to six commands based on the tongue position.

The Tongue Drive System holds promise for patients who have lost the use of their arms and legs, a condition known as tetraplegia or quadriplegia.

"It's really easy to understand what the Tongue Drive System can do and what it is good for," said Maysam Ghovanloo, an associate professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a study co-author and principal investigator. "Now, we have solid proof that people with disabilities can potentially benefit from it."

The study was published on Nov. 27 in the journal Science Translational Medicine. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and the National Science Foundation funded the research. Scientists from Shepherd Center in Atlanta, and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago were also involved in the study. Jeonghee Kim and Hangue Park, who are working on the Tongue Drive System as graduate students at Georgia Tech, are co-authors of the study.

"The Tongue Drive System is a novel technology that empowers people with disability to achieve maximum independence at home and in the community by enabling them to drive a power wheelchair and control their environment in a smoother and more intuitive way," said Northwestern co-lead investigator Elliot Roth, M.D, chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Feinberg and the medical director of the patient recovery unit at Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. "The opportunity to use this high-tech innovation to improve the quality of life among people with mobility limitations is very exciting."

The research team had subjects complete a set of tasks commonly used in similar clinical trials. Subjects in the trials were either able-bodied or people with tetraplegia.

"By the end of the trials, everybody preferred the Tongue Drive System over their current assistive technology," said Joy Bruce, manager of Shepherd Center's Spinal Cord Injury Lab and co-author of the study. "It allows them to engage their environment in a way that is otherwise not possible for them."

Researchers compared how able-bodied subjects were able to execute commands either with the Tongue Drive System or with a keypad and mouse. For example, targets randomly appeared on a computer screen and the subjects had to move the cursor to click on the target. Scientists are able to calculate how much information is transferred from a person's brain to the computer as they perform a point-and-click task. The performance gap narrowed throughout the trial between the keypad and mouse and the Tongue Drive System.

For the first time, the research team showed that people with tetraplegia can maneuver a wheelchair better with the Tongue Drive System than with the sip-and-puff system. On average, the performance of 11 subjects with tetraplegia using the Tongue Drive System was three times faster than their performance with the sip-and-puff system, but with the same level of accuracy, even though more than half of the patients had years of daily experience with sip-and-puff technology.

"That was a very exciting finding," Ghovanloo said. "It attests to how quickly and accurately you can move your tongue."

The idea for piercing the tongue with the magnet was the inspiration of Anne Laumann, M.D., professor of dermatology at Feinberg and a lead investigator of the Northwestern trial. She had read about an early stage of Tongue Drive System using a glued-on tongue magnet. The problem was the magnet fell off after a few hours and aspiration of the loose magnet was a real danger to these users.

"Tongue piercing put to medical use -- who would have thought it? It is needed and it works!" Laumann said.

The experiments were repeated over five weeks for the able-bodied test group, and over six weeks for the tetraplegic group. All of the subjects with tetraplegia were able to complete the trial, which Ghovanloo called an "exciting" and "major finding."

The tetraplegic group was using the Tongue Drive System just one day each week, but their improvement in performance was dramatic.

"We saw a huge, very significant improvement in their performance from session one to session two," Ghovanloo said. "That's an indicator of how quickly people learn this."

Experiments on the Tongue Drive System to date have been done in the lab or hospital. In future studies, scientists will test how the Tongue Drive System performs outside of the controlled clinical environment. The research team hopes to test how patients maneuver with the Tongue Drive System in their homes and other environments.

The Tongue Drive System isn't quite ready for commercialization, but Ghovanloo's startup company, Bionic Sciences, is working with Georgia Tech to move the technology forward.

Ghovanloo is the foundering director of the GT-Bionics Laboratory, where his team is experimenting with other devices to improve the quality of life for individuals with disability.

"All of my projects are related to helping people with disabilities using the latest and greatest technologies," Ghovanloo said. "That's my goal in my professional life."

DiSanto hopes that the one day he'll be able to use a tongue-powered wheelchair outside of the hospital, which would help him gain some independence he lost after his diving accident.

"The Tongue Drive System will greatly increase my quality of life when I can start using it everywhere I go," DiSanto said. "With the sip-and-puff system, there is always a straw in front of my face. With the Tongue Drive, people can see you, not just your adaptive equipment."

Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.

Military IC Connectors ST Diodes INFLNEON Diodes About US Schottky Diodes Fleld Effect Transistors Switches LINEAR IC TI IC Resistor Networks ELPIDA IC Thin Film Resistors Microchip IC YAGEO Resistors Diodes Renesas parts IC Infineon Technologies Transistors MAXIM IC AVX Resistors Transistors Freescale Zener Diodes Current Sensors Resistors DIODES Transistors SANYO IC components BB IC Cypress IC Ligitek LED Capacitor Resistor Arrays Metal Can Packages Transistors Vishay resistors Fairchild Semiconductor Transistors ST Transistors MURATA IC LED ON Transistors IDT IC Transistors
http://www.suvsystem.com/a/7605.aspx

Unlikely collaboration leads to discovery of 'gender-bending' plant

Martine described the plant as "gender bending," and explained that the females actually pretend to be male by producing pollen.

"What they're really doing is duping bees into visiting their flowers," Martine said. "One of the things we're going to do next is study what that means. Do the bees actually get anything from this fake pollen? And, if they don't, that means the plants are actually tricking the bees into doing their bidding, which would be a really neat thing for a plant to do."

Listed as a co-discoverer is David Symon, who mentored Martine while he was pursuing his doctorate in the early 2000s. Martine's graduate research focused on varieties of wild eggplants in Australia -- Symon's area of expertise. The two began a long-distance correspondence, with Martine sending Symon emails and Symon, who at the time was nearly 90, returning handwritten replies by mail. In 2004, they teamed up on a field expedition to search for new plant species in the Outback.

After the research trip, the two parted ways. Martine traveled with another group of researchers to Western Australia, and Symon stayed behind to examine specimens in Australia's Northern Territory Herbarium. It was the last time they would ever see each other.

Martine continued his work in Australia in 2009, which is when he first came across what is now known as Solanum cowiei. While DNA tests confirmed that the plant was an unknown species, Martine lacked the flowers he needed to assign it a scientific name.

Martine returned to Australia for a third time last May, hoping to find the elusive eggplants in bloom. He traveled to Litchfield National Park, where Martine had previously spotted the species. A wildfire had recently scorched the area, making it easier to pick out green sprouts amidst the gray and brown landscape. Combing through the brush, Martine found the wild eggplant with budding flowers.

"If I was capable of doing backflips, I would have done them," Martine said. "The only issue was that this was supposed to be our last day in the field and not a single bud had opened. We extended our time in the bush and camped out for two more nights, but they never opened."

Martine made his way back to the Northern Territory Herbarium, the same place he had last worked with Symon a decade earlier. He was elated to discover specimens of the plant with flowers on them. The find meant he could return to Bucknell to complete his description of the new species.

A day before heading home to America, Martine decided to dig deeper into the herbarium's archives, hoping others had come across the mystery plant and recorded their own observations. He was shocked by what he found: some dried specimens, and a page of handwritten notes that Martine easily recognized from his correspondence so many years ago. Unbeknownst to Martine, his mentor Symon had started describing Solanum cowiei after their trip together in 2004; it is the first known attempt to describe the eggplant Martine is now credited with naming.

"I knew right away that the notes were David's -- and I can say without exaggeration that finding them gave me the chills," Martine said. "Of course, then all I could do for a good ten minutes was sit there with a big smile on my face, shaking my head; he had beaten me to it."

But Symon was never able to describe the species.

"He likely stopped short of publishing the new species for the same reason I have until now," Martine explained. "Under the heading 'female flowers' he wrote, 'Not seen.'"

Note: The name Solanum cowiei is in honor of botanist Ian Cowie of the Northern Territory Herbarium, who first showed Martine dried specimens of the formerly undescribed species. Also listed as an author on the recent publication is Bucknell University professor Elizabeth Capaldi Evans, who traveled to Australia with Martine in May, 2013.

Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.

Alzheimer's risk gene may begin to affect brains in childhood, research shows

Dec. 3, 2013 — People who carry a high-risk gene for Alzheimer's disease show changes in their brains beginning in childhood, decades before the illness appears, new research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) suggests.

Share This:

The gene, called SORL1, is one of a number of genes linked to an increased risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of the illness. SORL1 carries the gene code for the sortilin-like receptor, which is involved in recycling some molecules in the brain before they develop into beta-amyloid a toxic Alzheimer protein. SORL1 is also involved in lipid metabolism, putting it at the heart of the vascular risk pathway for Alzheimer's disease as well.

"We need to understand where, when and how these Alzheimer's risk genes affect the brain, by studying the biological pathways through which they work," says Dr. Aristotle Voineskos, head of the Kimel Family Translational Imaging-Genetics Laboratory at CAMH, who led the study. "Through this knowledge, we can begin to design interventions at the right time, for the right people."

The study was recently published online in Molecular Psychiatry with Dr. Voineskos's graduate student, Daniel Felsky as first author, and was a collaborative effort with the Zucker Hillside Hospital/Feinstein Institute in New York and the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center in Chicago.

To understand SORL1's effects across the lifespan, the researchers studied individuals both with and without Alzheimer's disease. Their approach was to identify genetic differences in SORL1, and see if there was a link to Alzheimer's-related changes in the brain, using imaging as well as post-mortem tissue analysis.

In each approach, a link was confirmed.

In the first group of healthy individuals, aged eight to 86, researchers used a brain imaging technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Even among the youngest participants in the study, those with a specific copy of SORL1 showed a reduction in white matter connections in the brain important for memory performance and executive function.

The second sample included post-mortem brain tissue from 189 individuals less than a year old to 92 years, without Alzheimer's disease. Among those with that same copy of the SORL1 gene, the brain tissue showed a disruption in the process by which the gene translated its code to become the sortilin-like receptor.

Finally, the third set of post-mortem brains came from 710 individuals, aged 66 to 108, of whom the majority had mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's. In this case, the SORL1 risk gene was linked with the presence of amyloid-beta, a protein found in Alzheimer's disease.

Dr. Voineskos notes that risk for Alzheimer's disease results from a combination of factors -- unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, smoking, high blood pressure combined with a person's genetic profile -- which all contribute to the development of the illness. "The gene has a relatively small effect, but the changes are reliable, and may represent one 'hit', among a pathway of hits required to develop Alzheimer's disease later in life."

While it's too early to provide interventions that may target these changes, "individuals can take measures in their own lifestyle to reduce the risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease." Determining whether there is an interaction with this risk gene and lifestyle factors will be one important next step.

In order to develop genetically-based interventions to prevent Alzheimer's disease, the biological pathways of other risk genes also need to be systematically analyzed, the researchers note.

This research does, however, build on a previous CAMH imaging-genetics study on another gene related to Alzheimer's disease. That study showed that a genetic variation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) affected brain structures in Alzheimer's.

"The interesting connection is that BDNF may have important therapeutic value. But there is data to suggest that the effects of BDNF won't work unless SORL1 is present, so there is the possibility that if you boost the activity of one gene, the other will increase," says Dr. Voineskos, adding that BDNF therapeutics are in development. A next stage in the research, he says, is to look at the interaction of BDNF and SORL1.

Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.