High entropy waveforms exhibit desirable correlation properties in radar and sonar applications when multiple systems are used in close proximity. Unfortunately, the information content of these ...signals can impose high sampling requirements for digital detection techniques. Solvable chaotic oscillators have been proposed to address such issues due to their simple, matched filters, where hardware has been demonstrated with a bandwidth of 10-20 kHz. To extend applications of these systems, we present theory, design, and experimental verification of solvable chaos at 1 MHz using simple off-the-shelf components. The waveforms produced by this system were propagated over a 2.45 GHz RF link and detected with an RLC-based, purely analog matched filter. Further, we show that properties of this special class of chaotic systems can be exploited to yield RF noise sources that are generally advantageous for multi-user ranging applications when compared to conventional techniques. The result is a simple, low-cost, and potentially low-power RF ranging system that requires very little digital signal processing.
Little is known about the impact of temperature on proanthocyanidin (PA) accumulation in grape skins, despite its significance in berry composition and wine quality. Field-grown grapes (cv. Merlot) ...were cooled during the day or heated at night by +/−8 °C, from fruit set to véraison in three seasons, to determine the effect of temperature on PA accumulation. Total PA content per berry varied only in one year, when PA content was highest in heated berries (1.46 mg berry−1) and lowest in cooled berries (0.97 mg berry−1). In two years, cooling berries resulted in a significant increase in the proportion of (−)-epigallocatechin as an extension subunit. In the third year, rates of berry development, PA accumulation, and the expression levels of several genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis were assessed. Heating and cooling berries altered the initial rates of PA accumulation, which was correlated strongly with the expression of core genes in the flavonoid pathway. Both heating and cooling altered the rate of berry growth and coloration, and the expression of several structural genes within the flavonoid pathway.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) in a young man is an important health problem that significantly impacts the patient’s quality of life and can have a detrimental effect on his well-being and relationship ...with his partner. Erectile dysfunction or impotence is one of the few disorders that will bring a young man into the doctor’s office. This review article focuses on the epidemiology, etiology, presentation, work-up, and treatment of young men (age ~20–40 years old) presenting with complaints of ED. It is important to identify the precise etiology of the ED before proceeding with further evaluation and treatment because the work-up can be invasive and costly. ED is estimated to affect 20 % of men above 40 years of age, with the incidence increasing with increasing age. Erectile dysfunction has traditionally been seen as an age-dependent problem; however, approximately 2 % of men are affected at 40 years of age but this may be a gross underestimation secondary to reporting bias. Because ED is traditionally seen in the aging male population, studies regarding ED tend to be more frequently carried out among middle-aged and elderly men rather than in young men. These studies underline how comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular or neurological pathologies, and medication use are strongly linked with ED. In addition, ED has been described to be associated with obesity or physical inactivity. This review article summarizes the important information that all sexual medicine providers should be familiar with when diagnosing, counseling, and treating young men with erectile dysfunction.
This study assessed the impact of fruit temperature on the phenolic metabolism of grape berries (
Vitis vinifera L. cv. Merlot) grown under field conditions with controlled exposure to sunlight. ...Individual cluster temperatures were manipulated in situ. Diurnal temperature fluctuation was damped by daytime cooling and nighttime heating of clusters. Daytime-only and nighttime-only temperature controls were applied for comparison. Berry temperatures were recorded continuously to compare the chemical data. Samples collected at véraison indicated that damping the diurnal temperature fluctuation advanced the onset of ripening. Those berries were larger (double-damped: 0.753
±
0.015
g
berry
−1 vs control: 0.512
±
0.034
g
berry
−1) and more colored than all others. Development of phenolic metabolites was followed by two reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography methods and gel permeation chromatography. These methods provided information on anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, flavonols, flavan-3-ol monomers, and polymeric material. Damping the diurnal temperature fluctuation reduced proanthocyanidin mean degree of polymerization (double-damped: 21.8
±
1.0 vs control: 28.0
±
1.7). Proanthocyanidin accumulation at véraison was linearly related to heat summation over the developmental period with nighttime heating yielding the highest concentration and daytime cooling yielding the lowest (night-heat: 1.46
±
0.13
mg
berry
−1 vs day-cool: 0.97
±
0.09
mg
berry
−1). Damping the diurnal temperature fluctuation had a marked effect on the rate of fruit development whereas total heat summation had more of an effect on phenolic metabolism alone. The results provide insight on the direct effect of temperature on phenolic metabolism.
There is an emerging consensus that achieving global tuberculosis control targets will require more proactive case finding approaches than are currently used in high-incidence settings. Household ...contact tracing (HHCT), for which households of newly diagnosed cases are actively screened for additional infected individuals is a potentially efficient approach to finding new cases of tuberculosis, however randomized trials assessing the population-level effects of such interventions in settings with sustained community transmission have shown mixed results. One potential explanation for this is that household transmission is responsible for a variable proportion of population-level tuberculosis burden between settings. For example, transmission is more likely to occur in households in settings with a lower tuberculosis burden and where individuals mix preferentially in local areas, compared with settings with higher disease burden and more dispersed mixing. To better understand the relationship between endemic incidence levels, social mixing, and the impact of HHCT, we developed a spatially explicit model of coupled household and community transmission. We found that the impact of HHCT was robust across settings of varied incidence and community contact patterns. In contrast, we found that the effects of community contact tracing interventions were sensitive to community contact patterns. Our results suggest that the protective benefits of HHCT are robust and the benefits of this intervention are likely to be maintained across epidemiological settings.
Red wines ferment in contact with skins to extract polyphenols and anthocyanins that help build, establish, and stabilize color. Concentration and composition vary among genera, species, and ...cultivars. For this study, 11 grapes representing Vitis vinifera (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Barbera, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Mourvedre), Vitis labrusca (Concord), Muscadinia rotundifolia (Noble), and French-American hybrids (Marquette, Chambourcin) were selected. All cultivars were fermented on skins while color extraction was monitored daily. Each grape was also extracted using six different methods (microwave, and ultrasound assisted, Glorie procedure, ITV Standard (Institut Technique de la Vigne et du Vin), AWRI method (Australian Wine and Research Institute), solvent extraction of skins) and compared to color characteristics of the wines produced by fermentation. Results show that the extraction pattern varies among cultivars. Post-fermentation maceration, pressing, and sulfur dioxide addition lead to color loss up to 68 percent of the original maximum with the highest loss for native American grapes and hybrid varieties. Extraction procedures over-estimate color in the finished wine but are more accurate if compared to peak extraction levels during fermentation. Color loss and suitability of different extraction procedures to predict color characteristics of fermented wine strongly depend on the complexity of the anthocyanin spectrum and therefore the cultivar used.
The presence of phenolic compounds in food has garnered much attention over the years. The diversity of these compounds and their contribution to nutritive and sensory qualities has been investigated ...in depth to elucidate benefits and modes of action. This review is intended to provide information on the impact of growing conditions on the accumulation of phenolics in plants. The aim is to provide knowledge of factors that influence phenolic biosynthesis in plants to help us manage them prior to harvest. Through improving our understanding of plant responses to the environment we may be able to manipulate growing parameters to suit the needs of the consumer. In this review, research regarding plant responses to climate, farming practices, biotic, and abiotic stresses is presented.
The aim of this study was to identify the source of haze formation in red wine after the addition of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and to characterize the dynamics of precipitation. Ninety commercial ...wines representing eight grape varieties were collected, tested with two commercial CMC products, and analyzed for susceptibility to haze formation. Seventy-four of these wines showed a precipitation within 14 days independent of the CMC product used. The precipitates of four representative samples were further analyzed for elemental composition (CHNS analysis) and solubility under different conditions to determine the nature of the solids. All of the precipitates were composed of approximately 50% proteins and 50% CMC and polyphenols. It was determined that the interactions between CMC and bovine serum albumin are pH dependent in wine-like model solution. Furthermore, it was found that the color loss associated with CMC additions required the presence of proteins and cannot be observed with CMC and anthocyanins alone.
The production of hard apple cider frequently involves considerations based on the balance between fermentable sugars and titratable acidity and/or pH. However, these are not the only attributes that ...influence the sensory properties of cider. Various groups of polyphenols and tannins influence bitterness, astringency, and mouthfeel, as well as color of the product. In this study, 19 single variety hard apple ciders were evaluated using analytical methods originally developed for wines. The aim was to determine how the cider matrix affects the functionality of each method. The results indicate that most assays work with sufficient accuracy with the exception of protein precipitation methods. Due to interferences of polysaccharides with the protein reaction, those assays are poorly reproducible and do not reflect the actual polyphenol or tannin concentration. The analytical determination of astringency is also influenced by this interference, since it traditionally uses the concept of protein precipitation as well. Liquid chromatography as a selective method can be readily applied to cider. Other colorimetric methods or non-protein precipitation methods, such as the Folin-Ciocalteu assay, the Methylcellulose Precipitation assay, and the Iron-Reactive Phenolics assay, can be used to classify apple ciders and make decisions based on the desired bitterness and astringency profile.
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence platform available to patients seeking medical advice. Traditionally, urology patients consulted official provider-created materials, particularly the Urology ...Care Foundation™ (UCF). Today, men increasingly go online due to the rising costs of health care and the stigma surrounding sexual health. Online health information is largely inaccessible to laypersons as it exceeds the recommended American sixth to eighth grade reading level. We conducted a comparative assessment of patient education materials generated by ChatGPT vs UCF regarding men's health conditions.
All 6 UCF men's health resources were identified. ChatGPT responses were generated using patient questions obtained from UCF. Adjusted ChatGPT responses were generated by prompting, "Explain it to me like I am in sixth grade." Textual analysis was performed using sentence, word, syllable, and complex word count. Six validated formulae were used for readability analysis. Two physicians independently scored responses for accuracy, comprehensiveness, and understandability. Statistical analysis involved Wilcoxon matched-pairs test.
ChatGPT responses were longer and more complex. Both UCF and ChatGPT failed official readability standards, although ChatGPT performed significantly worse across all 6 topics (all
< .001). Conversely, adjusted ChatGPT readability typically surpassed UCF, even meeting the recommended level for 2 topics. Qualitatively, UCF and ChatGPT had comparable accuracy, although ChatGPT had better comprehensiveness and worse understandability.
When comparing readability, ChatGPT-generated education is less accessible than provider-written content, although neither meets the recommended level. Our analysis indicates that specific artificial intelligence prompts can simplify educational materials to meet national standards and accommodate individual literacy.
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