Andrew Wat - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Andrew Wat
Journal of Virology, 1999
The ability to deliver genes as therapeutics requires an understanding of the vector pharmacokine... more The ability to deliver genes as therapeutics requires an understanding of the vector pharmacokinetics similar to that required for conventional drugs. A first question is the half-life of the vector in the bloodstream. Retroviral vectors produced in certain human cell lines differ from vectors produced in nonhuman cell lines in being substantially resistant to inactivation in vitro by human serum complement (F. L. Cosset, Y. Takeuchi, J. L. Battini, R. A. Weiss, and M. K. Collins, J. Virol. 69:7430–7436, 1995). Thus, use of human packaging cell lines (PCL) may produce vectors with longer half-lives, resulting in more-efficacious in vivo gene therapy. However, survival of human PCL-produced vectors in vivo following systemic administration has not been explored. In this investigation, the half-lives of retroviral vectors packaged by either canine D17 or human HT1080 PCL were measured in the bloodstreams of macaques and chimpanzees. Human PCL-produced vectors exhibited significantly h...
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
In three experiments, hungry rats received appetitive training with four stimuli, A, B, X, and Y.... more In three experiments, hungry rats received appetitive training with four stimuli, A, B, X, and Y. In each Experiment, A and B were paired with one unconditioned stimulus (US; e.g. food pellets) whereas X and Y were paired with a second US (e.g. sucrose). Subsequently, rats responded more vigorously to combinations of stimuli associated with different USs (A-Y & X-B) than to combinations of stimuli associated with the same US (A-B & X-Y; Experiments 1, 2, & 3). This effect was observed when the stimuli were presented simultaneously and during the second elements of serial compounds (Experiments 2 & 3). Moreover, combining CSs associated with different USs resulted in a more marked CR than combining CSs that had each been paired with both US1 and US2 (Experiment 3). These results suggest that the sensory properties of appetitive reinforcers have an important influence on performance.
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2004
Proceedings of the 2006 International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, ICONN, 2006
Organic photovoltaics promise a number of key advantages over conventional silicon, namely: ease ... more Organic photovoltaics promise a number of key advantages over conventional silicon, namely: ease of processing, low cost, physical flexibility and large area coverage. However, the solar power conversion efficiencies of pure polymer devices are poor. When electron acceptor nanocrystals are blended with a donor conducting polymer to create a bulk heterojunction structure, the optical and electronic properties of both materials
Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, 2006
Decreased ventilation of the Southern Ocean in glacial time is implicated in most explanations of... more Decreased ventilation of the Southern Ocean in glacial time is implicated in most explanations of lower glacial atmospheric CO 2. Today, the deep (>2000 m) ocean south of the Polar Front is rapidly ventilated from below, with the interaction of deep currents with topography driving high mixing rates well up into the water column. We show from a buoyancy budget that mixing rates are high in all the deep waters of the Southern Ocean. Between the surface and ∼2000 m depth, water is upwelled by a residual meridional overturning that is directly linked to buoyancy fluxes through the ocean surface. Combined with the rapid deep mixing, this upwelling serves to return deep water to the surface on a short time scale. We propose two new mechanisms by which, in glacial time, the deep Southern Ocean may have been more isolated from the surface. Firstly, the deep ocean appears to have been more stratified because of denser bottom water resulting from intense sea ice formation near Antarctica. The greater stratification would have slowed the deep mixing. Secondly, subzero atmospheric temperatures may have meant that the present-day buoyancy flux from the atmosphere to the ocean surface was reduced or reversed. This in turn would have reduced or eliminated the upwelling (contrary to a common assumption, upwelling is not solely a function of the wind stress but is coupled to the air-sea buoyancy flux too). The observed very close link between Antarctic temperatures and atmospheric CO 2 could then be explained as a natural consequence of the connection between the air-sea buoyancy flux and upwelling in the Southern Ocean, if slower ventilation of the Southern Ocean led to lower atmospheric CO 2. Here we use a box model, similar to those of previous authors, to show that weaker mixing and reduced upwelling in the Southern Ocean can explain the low glacial atmospheric CO 2 in such a formulation.
Solar Energy, 2011
... Permissions & Reprints. Lead-sulphide quantum-dot sensitization o... more ... Permissions & Reprints. Lead-sulphide quantum-dot sensitization of tin oxide based hybrid solar cells. Henry J. Snaith a , Corresponding Author Contact Information , E-mail The Corresponding Author , Alexandros Stavrinadis b , Pablo Docampo a and Andrew AR Watt b. ...
Pediatric Radiology, 2005
A soft-tissue aneurysmal bone cyst located on the lateral aspect of the left thigh of a 12-year-o... more A soft-tissue aneurysmal bone cyst located on the lateral aspect of the left thigh of a 12-year-old girl is described. Conventional radiography of the thigh was normal. Sonography showed a hypoechoic mass with a feeding vessel and intralesional vascularity. On MRI, it was of predominantly soft-tissue signal intensity with intense enhancement following administration of IV contrast medium. Histopathological examination diagnosed the lesion as a soft-tissue aneurysmal bone cyst. This is the fourth paediatric case of this very rare benign tumour.
Paediatric Respiratory Reviews, 2002
Nanotechnology, 2004
Multiple emission peaks have been observed from surface passivated PbS nanocrystals displaying st... more Multiple emission peaks have been observed from surface passivated PbS nanocrystals displaying strong quantum confinement. The emission spectra are shown to be strongly dependent on the excited-state parity. We also find that intraband energy relaxation from initial states excited far above the band-edge is nearly three orders of magnitude slower than that found in other nanocrystal quantum dots, providing evidence of inefficient energy relaxation via phonon emission. The initial-state parity dependence of the photoluminescent emission properties suggests that energy relaxation from the higher excited states occurs via a radiative cascade, analogous to energy relaxation in atomic systems. Such radiative cascade emission is possible from ideal zero-dimensional semiconductors, where electronic transitions can be decoupled from phonon modes.
Nanotechnology, 2010
We report advances in the growth, characterization and photovoltaic properties of SnS nanocrystal... more We report advances in the growth, characterization and photovoltaic properties of SnS nanocrystals, with controlled < 10 nm size, and their inclusion into a lead chalcogenide solar cell. The SnS/PbS nanocrystalline film heterojunction is shown to display a type II band alignment, in which the direction of flow of the photocurrent depends on the order of the layers and not the relative work functions of the contacts. On placing the SnS layer next to the indium tin oxide (ITO) cathode we observe a dramatic increase in V(oc) to as much as 0.45 V. Our results suggest that SnS nanocrystal films can be used in multi-junction solar cells, that a SnS/PbS heterojunction on its own shows photovoltaic behaviour, and that a SnS layer in an ITO/SnS/PbS/Al device is acting to suppress the flow of an electron injection current.
Nano Letters, 2008
We filled SWNTs with the paramagnetic fullerene Sc@C82 to form peapods. The interfullerene 1D pac... more We filled SWNTs with the paramagnetic fullerene Sc@C82 to form peapods. The interfullerene 1D packing distance measured using TEM is d = 1.1 +/- 0.02 nm. The Sc@C82 in SWNT peapods continuously rotated during the 2 s TEM exposure time, and we did not see the Sc atoms. However, Sc@C82 metallofullerenes in MWNT peapods have periods of fixed orientation, indicated by the brief observation of Sc atoms. La@C82 peapods were also prepared and their rotational behavior examined. The interfullerene 1D packing of both La@C82 and Sc@C82 peapods is identical and thus independent of the charge transfer state for these paramagnetic fullerenes. The La@C82 metallofullerenes in the peapods have fixed orientations for extended periods of time, up to 50 s in some cases. The La@C82 spontaneously rotates rapidly between fixed orientations.
Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 2004
The use of sorbents has been proposed to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in ambi... more The use of sorbents has been proposed to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in ambient air at concentrations in the parts-per-billion (ppb) range, which is typical of indoor air quality applications. Sorbent materials, such as granular activated carbon and molecular sieves, are used to remove VOCs from gas streams in industrial applications, where VOC concentrations are typically in the parts-per-million range. A method for evaluating the VOC removal performance of sorbent materials using toluene concentrations in the ppb range is described. Breakthrough times for toluene at concentrations from 2 to 7500 ppb are presented for a hydrophobic molecular sieve at 25% relative humidity. By increasing the ratio of challenge gas flow rate to the mass of the sorbent bed and decreasing both the mass of sorbent in the bed and the sorbent particle size, this method reduces the required experimental times by a factor of up to several hundred compared with the proposed American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and AirConditioning Engineers method, ASHRAE 145P, making sorbent performance evaluation for ppb-range VOC removal more convenient. The method can be applied to screen sorbent materials for application in the removal of VOCs from indoor air.
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2005
In this paper we report photovoltaic devices fabricated from PbS nanocrystals and the conducting ... more In this paper we report photovoltaic devices fabricated from PbS nanocrystals and the conducting polymer poly (2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethyl-hexyloxy)-p-phenylene vinylene (MEH-PPV). This composite material was produced via a new single-pot synthesis which solves many of the issues associated with existing methods. Our devices have white light power conversion efficiencies under AM1.5 illumination of 0.7% and single wavelength conversion efficiencies of 1.1%. Additionally, they exhibit remarkably good ideality factors (n=1.15). Our measurements show that these composites have significant potential as soft optoelectronic materials.
Journal of Microbiological Methods, 1997
Traditionally, biodegradation of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in soil is studied by disappearance of t... more Traditionally, biodegradation of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in soil is studied by disappearance of the parent compound and its intermediates. Because of the lack of methods to enumerate PCP-degrading bacteria in environmental samples, little is known about the dynamics of these organisms in soil. In this study, the efficiency of a modified most-probable-number / 14 polymerase chain reaction (MPN / PCR) protocol was compared to the traditional MPN / [ C]PCP mineralization assay to quantify the density of PCP-degrading Sphingomonas sp. UG30 cells inoculated in an agricultural soil. A 753-bp tetrachlorohydroquinone reductive dehalogenase gene (pcpC) fragment of UG30 was targeted for the MPN / PCR amplification. The MPN / PCR protocol had a detection limit of 3 CFU / g dry soil. A good correlation was established 9 between the MPN / PCR estimations and initial inoculum densities ranging from 30 to 2310 CFU / g of soil. However, the 14 MPN / [ C]PCP mineralization protocol underestimated the inoculum density by 70 to 740-fold. Survival of UG30 in soil 8 5 was monitored by the MPN / PCR assay. Cell density of the UG30 inoculum decreased from 1.8310 to 1.9310 cells / g of 4 soil in the first 20 days of incubation and stabilized at 1.9310 cells / g of soil after 50 days. When the soil was autoclaved 7 prior to inoculation, UG30 cell density remained at 6.7310 cells / g of soil after 50 days of incubation.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2003
Burgess, Hartman, Ressler, Douglas, and McCormack noted a high prevalence of certain behavioral a... more Burgess, Hartman, Ressler, Douglas, and McCormack noted a high prevalence of certain behavioral and experiential characteristics in sexual murderers and argued for their etiological importance. The present study aimed to measure the prevalence of these indicators in a nonoffending control population and to evaluate whether they identified sadistic sexual fantasy. The prevalence of behavioral and experiential indicators and degree of sadistic sexual interest were measured in 50 healthy nonoffenders. Compared to Burgess et al.'s sexual murderers, higher prevalence levels for most experiential indicators were found, whereas many of the behavioral indicators were less prevalent. Three of the behavioral indicators were significantly associated with the presence of sadistic sexual fantasies. The presence of behavioral indicators that predict sadistic sexual fantasy confirms the importance of these factors in the etiology of the development of sadistic sexual fantasy in both offenders ...
![Research paper thumbnail of Configuration-selective spectroscopic studies of Er[sup 3+] centers in ErSc[sub 2]N@C[sub 80] and Er[sub 2]ScN@C[sub 80] fullerenes](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/98172299/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](The Journal of Chemical Physics, 2007
Low temperature photoluminescence ͑PL͒ and photoluminescence excitation ͑PLE͒ spectroscopy of hig... more Low temperature photoluminescence ͑PL͒ and photoluminescence excitation ͑PLE͒ spectroscopy of high purity ErSc 2 N@C 80 and Er 2 ScN@C 80 fullerenes reveal at least two metastable configurations of the Er 3+ ion within the cage, consistent with previous observations from x-ray diffraction. Using PLE measurements at a number of different emission wavelengths we have characterized the ground state, 4 I 15/2 , and the first excited state, 4 I 13/2 , of the various Er 3+ configurations and their crystal-field splitting. We present detailed energy level diagrams for the ground and excited states of the two dominant configurations of ErSc 2 N@C 80 and Er 2 ScN@C 80 .
Inorganic Chemistry, 2008
The application of nanoparticles in the biomedical field is an exciting interdisciplinary researc... more The application of nanoparticles in the biomedical field is an exciting interdisciplinary research area in current materials science. In the present study, size-tunable and water-soluble noble metal silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have been successfully synthesized with the assistance of glutathione (GSH). The as-synthesized Ag NPs are ready to bind covalently with a model protein (bovine serum albumin) in mild conditions. The optical property of surface-modifiable Ag NPs was extremely sensitive to their size and the surface modification, suggesting a potential in the biomedical analysis and detection. Furthermore, Ag NPs with an average diameter of ca. 6 nm effectively suppress the proliferation of human leukemic K562 cells in the dose-and time-dependent manners, suggesting the promising potential of Ag NPs in cancer therapy.
FEBS Letters, 2011
RNA processing is vital for the high fidelity and diversity of eukaryotic transcriptomes and the ... more RNA processing is vital for the high fidelity and diversity of eukaryotic transcriptomes and the encoded proteomes. However, control of RNA processing is not fully established. R RNA is a class of conserved large non-coding RNAs (murine Hepcarcin; human MALAT-1) up-regulated in carcinomas. Using antisense technology, we identified that RNA post-transcriptional modification is the most significant global function of R RNA. Specifically, processing of the pre-mRNAs of genes including Tissue Factor and Endoglin was altered by hydrolysis of R RNA/MALAT-1. These results support the hypothesis that R RNA/MALAT-1 is a regulatory molecule exerting roles in RNA post-transcriptional modification.
European Journal of Industrial Relations, 2004
This article starts with a brief review of the European Employment Strategy (EES) and a general e... more This article starts with a brief review of the European Employment Strategy (EES) and a general evaluation of its scope and limitations, then provides an assessment of the five-year review conducted by the European Commission. It examines the new form that has been given to the EES for the 2003 exercise, on the basis of the conclusions drawn from the five-year review. It argues that this change involves more than mere presentation, but fails to address the inherent limitations of the EES as currently constituted. Lastly, the article compares the employment guidelines with the original proposals made by the Commission, and draws conclusions regarding the balance of interests and forces in the policy-making process.
Chemical Physics Letters, 2008
The magnetic properties of ErSc2N@ C80, Er2ScN@ C80 and Er3N@ C80 metallofullerenes are character... more The magnetic properties of ErSc2N@ C80, Er2ScN@ C80 and Er3N@ C80 metallofullerenes are characterized in the temperature range 2 to 300K up to a magnetic field of 7T. The magnetic susceptibility of these fullerenes follows the CurieWeiss law. ...
Journal of Virology, 1999
The ability to deliver genes as therapeutics requires an understanding of the vector pharmacokine... more The ability to deliver genes as therapeutics requires an understanding of the vector pharmacokinetics similar to that required for conventional drugs. A first question is the half-life of the vector in the bloodstream. Retroviral vectors produced in certain human cell lines differ from vectors produced in nonhuman cell lines in being substantially resistant to inactivation in vitro by human serum complement (F. L. Cosset, Y. Takeuchi, J. L. Battini, R. A. Weiss, and M. K. Collins, J. Virol. 69:7430–7436, 1995). Thus, use of human packaging cell lines (PCL) may produce vectors with longer half-lives, resulting in more-efficacious in vivo gene therapy. However, survival of human PCL-produced vectors in vivo following systemic administration has not been explored. In this investigation, the half-lives of retroviral vectors packaged by either canine D17 or human HT1080 PCL were measured in the bloodstreams of macaques and chimpanzees. Human PCL-produced vectors exhibited significantly h...
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
In three experiments, hungry rats received appetitive training with four stimuli, A, B, X, and Y.... more In three experiments, hungry rats received appetitive training with four stimuli, A, B, X, and Y. In each Experiment, A and B were paired with one unconditioned stimulus (US; e.g. food pellets) whereas X and Y were paired with a second US (e.g. sucrose). Subsequently, rats responded more vigorously to combinations of stimuli associated with different USs (A-Y & X-B) than to combinations of stimuli associated with the same US (A-B & X-Y; Experiments 1, 2, & 3). This effect was observed when the stimuli were presented simultaneously and during the second elements of serial compounds (Experiments 2 & 3). Moreover, combining CSs associated with different USs resulted in a more marked CR than combining CSs that had each been paired with both US1 and US2 (Experiment 3). These results suggest that the sensory properties of appetitive reinforcers have an important influence on performance.
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2004
Proceedings of the 2006 International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, ICONN, 2006
Organic photovoltaics promise a number of key advantages over conventional silicon, namely: ease ... more Organic photovoltaics promise a number of key advantages over conventional silicon, namely: ease of processing, low cost, physical flexibility and large area coverage. However, the solar power conversion efficiencies of pure polymer devices are poor. When electron acceptor nanocrystals are blended with a donor conducting polymer to create a bulk heterojunction structure, the optical and electronic properties of both materials
Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, 2006
Decreased ventilation of the Southern Ocean in glacial time is implicated in most explanations of... more Decreased ventilation of the Southern Ocean in glacial time is implicated in most explanations of lower glacial atmospheric CO 2. Today, the deep (>2000 m) ocean south of the Polar Front is rapidly ventilated from below, with the interaction of deep currents with topography driving high mixing rates well up into the water column. We show from a buoyancy budget that mixing rates are high in all the deep waters of the Southern Ocean. Between the surface and ∼2000 m depth, water is upwelled by a residual meridional overturning that is directly linked to buoyancy fluxes through the ocean surface. Combined with the rapid deep mixing, this upwelling serves to return deep water to the surface on a short time scale. We propose two new mechanisms by which, in glacial time, the deep Southern Ocean may have been more isolated from the surface. Firstly, the deep ocean appears to have been more stratified because of denser bottom water resulting from intense sea ice formation near Antarctica. The greater stratification would have slowed the deep mixing. Secondly, subzero atmospheric temperatures may have meant that the present-day buoyancy flux from the atmosphere to the ocean surface was reduced or reversed. This in turn would have reduced or eliminated the upwelling (contrary to a common assumption, upwelling is not solely a function of the wind stress but is coupled to the air-sea buoyancy flux too). The observed very close link between Antarctic temperatures and atmospheric CO 2 could then be explained as a natural consequence of the connection between the air-sea buoyancy flux and upwelling in the Southern Ocean, if slower ventilation of the Southern Ocean led to lower atmospheric CO 2. Here we use a box model, similar to those of previous authors, to show that weaker mixing and reduced upwelling in the Southern Ocean can explain the low glacial atmospheric CO 2 in such a formulation.
Solar Energy, 2011
... Permissions & Reprints. Lead-sulphide quantum-dot sensitization o... more ... Permissions & Reprints. Lead-sulphide quantum-dot sensitization of tin oxide based hybrid solar cells. Henry J. Snaith a , Corresponding Author Contact Information , E-mail The Corresponding Author , Alexandros Stavrinadis b , Pablo Docampo a and Andrew AR Watt b. ...
Pediatric Radiology, 2005
A soft-tissue aneurysmal bone cyst located on the lateral aspect of the left thigh of a 12-year-o... more A soft-tissue aneurysmal bone cyst located on the lateral aspect of the left thigh of a 12-year-old girl is described. Conventional radiography of the thigh was normal. Sonography showed a hypoechoic mass with a feeding vessel and intralesional vascularity. On MRI, it was of predominantly soft-tissue signal intensity with intense enhancement following administration of IV contrast medium. Histopathological examination diagnosed the lesion as a soft-tissue aneurysmal bone cyst. This is the fourth paediatric case of this very rare benign tumour.
Paediatric Respiratory Reviews, 2002
Nanotechnology, 2004
Multiple emission peaks have been observed from surface passivated PbS nanocrystals displaying st... more Multiple emission peaks have been observed from surface passivated PbS nanocrystals displaying strong quantum confinement. The emission spectra are shown to be strongly dependent on the excited-state parity. We also find that intraband energy relaxation from initial states excited far above the band-edge is nearly three orders of magnitude slower than that found in other nanocrystal quantum dots, providing evidence of inefficient energy relaxation via phonon emission. The initial-state parity dependence of the photoluminescent emission properties suggests that energy relaxation from the higher excited states occurs via a radiative cascade, analogous to energy relaxation in atomic systems. Such radiative cascade emission is possible from ideal zero-dimensional semiconductors, where electronic transitions can be decoupled from phonon modes.
Nanotechnology, 2010
We report advances in the growth, characterization and photovoltaic properties of SnS nanocrystal... more We report advances in the growth, characterization and photovoltaic properties of SnS nanocrystals, with controlled < 10 nm size, and their inclusion into a lead chalcogenide solar cell. The SnS/PbS nanocrystalline film heterojunction is shown to display a type II band alignment, in which the direction of flow of the photocurrent depends on the order of the layers and not the relative work functions of the contacts. On placing the SnS layer next to the indium tin oxide (ITO) cathode we observe a dramatic increase in V(oc) to as much as 0.45 V. Our results suggest that SnS nanocrystal films can be used in multi-junction solar cells, that a SnS/PbS heterojunction on its own shows photovoltaic behaviour, and that a SnS layer in an ITO/SnS/PbS/Al device is acting to suppress the flow of an electron injection current.
Nano Letters, 2008
We filled SWNTs with the paramagnetic fullerene Sc@C82 to form peapods. The interfullerene 1D pac... more We filled SWNTs with the paramagnetic fullerene Sc@C82 to form peapods. The interfullerene 1D packing distance measured using TEM is d = 1.1 +/- 0.02 nm. The Sc@C82 in SWNT peapods continuously rotated during the 2 s TEM exposure time, and we did not see the Sc atoms. However, Sc@C82 metallofullerenes in MWNT peapods have periods of fixed orientation, indicated by the brief observation of Sc atoms. La@C82 peapods were also prepared and their rotational behavior examined. The interfullerene 1D packing of both La@C82 and Sc@C82 peapods is identical and thus independent of the charge transfer state for these paramagnetic fullerenes. The La@C82 metallofullerenes in the peapods have fixed orientations for extended periods of time, up to 50 s in some cases. The La@C82 spontaneously rotates rapidly between fixed orientations.
Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 2004
The use of sorbents has been proposed to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in ambi... more The use of sorbents has been proposed to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in ambient air at concentrations in the parts-per-billion (ppb) range, which is typical of indoor air quality applications. Sorbent materials, such as granular activated carbon and molecular sieves, are used to remove VOCs from gas streams in industrial applications, where VOC concentrations are typically in the parts-per-million range. A method for evaluating the VOC removal performance of sorbent materials using toluene concentrations in the ppb range is described. Breakthrough times for toluene at concentrations from 2 to 7500 ppb are presented for a hydrophobic molecular sieve at 25% relative humidity. By increasing the ratio of challenge gas flow rate to the mass of the sorbent bed and decreasing both the mass of sorbent in the bed and the sorbent particle size, this method reduces the required experimental times by a factor of up to several hundred compared with the proposed American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and AirConditioning Engineers method, ASHRAE 145P, making sorbent performance evaluation for ppb-range VOC removal more convenient. The method can be applied to screen sorbent materials for application in the removal of VOCs from indoor air.
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2005
In this paper we report photovoltaic devices fabricated from PbS nanocrystals and the conducting ... more In this paper we report photovoltaic devices fabricated from PbS nanocrystals and the conducting polymer poly (2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethyl-hexyloxy)-p-phenylene vinylene (MEH-PPV). This composite material was produced via a new single-pot synthesis which solves many of the issues associated with existing methods. Our devices have white light power conversion efficiencies under AM1.5 illumination of 0.7% and single wavelength conversion efficiencies of 1.1%. Additionally, they exhibit remarkably good ideality factors (n=1.15). Our measurements show that these composites have significant potential as soft optoelectronic materials.
Journal of Microbiological Methods, 1997
Traditionally, biodegradation of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in soil is studied by disappearance of t... more Traditionally, biodegradation of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in soil is studied by disappearance of the parent compound and its intermediates. Because of the lack of methods to enumerate PCP-degrading bacteria in environmental samples, little is known about the dynamics of these organisms in soil. In this study, the efficiency of a modified most-probable-number / 14 polymerase chain reaction (MPN / PCR) protocol was compared to the traditional MPN / [ C]PCP mineralization assay to quantify the density of PCP-degrading Sphingomonas sp. UG30 cells inoculated in an agricultural soil. A 753-bp tetrachlorohydroquinone reductive dehalogenase gene (pcpC) fragment of UG30 was targeted for the MPN / PCR amplification. The MPN / PCR protocol had a detection limit of 3 CFU / g dry soil. A good correlation was established 9 between the MPN / PCR estimations and initial inoculum densities ranging from 30 to 2310 CFU / g of soil. However, the 14 MPN / [ C]PCP mineralization protocol underestimated the inoculum density by 70 to 740-fold. Survival of UG30 in soil 8 5 was monitored by the MPN / PCR assay. Cell density of the UG30 inoculum decreased from 1.8310 to 1.9310 cells / g of 4 soil in the first 20 days of incubation and stabilized at 1.9310 cells / g of soil after 50 days. When the soil was autoclaved 7 prior to inoculation, UG30 cell density remained at 6.7310 cells / g of soil after 50 days of incubation.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2003
Burgess, Hartman, Ressler, Douglas, and McCormack noted a high prevalence of certain behavioral a... more Burgess, Hartman, Ressler, Douglas, and McCormack noted a high prevalence of certain behavioral and experiential characteristics in sexual murderers and argued for their etiological importance. The present study aimed to measure the prevalence of these indicators in a nonoffending control population and to evaluate whether they identified sadistic sexual fantasy. The prevalence of behavioral and experiential indicators and degree of sadistic sexual interest were measured in 50 healthy nonoffenders. Compared to Burgess et al.'s sexual murderers, higher prevalence levels for most experiential indicators were found, whereas many of the behavioral indicators were less prevalent. Three of the behavioral indicators were significantly associated with the presence of sadistic sexual fantasies. The presence of behavioral indicators that predict sadistic sexual fantasy confirms the importance of these factors in the etiology of the development of sadistic sexual fantasy in both offenders ...
The Journal of Chemical Physics, 2007
Low temperature photoluminescence ͑PL͒ and photoluminescence excitation ͑PLE͒ spectroscopy of hig... more Low temperature photoluminescence ͑PL͒ and photoluminescence excitation ͑PLE͒ spectroscopy of high purity ErSc 2 N@C 80 and Er 2 ScN@C 80 fullerenes reveal at least two metastable configurations of the Er 3+ ion within the cage, consistent with previous observations from x-ray diffraction. Using PLE measurements at a number of different emission wavelengths we have characterized the ground state, 4 I 15/2 , and the first excited state, 4 I 13/2 , of the various Er 3+ configurations and their crystal-field splitting. We present detailed energy level diagrams for the ground and excited states of the two dominant configurations of ErSc 2 N@C 80 and Er 2 ScN@C 80 .
Inorganic Chemistry, 2008
The application of nanoparticles in the biomedical field is an exciting interdisciplinary researc... more The application of nanoparticles in the biomedical field is an exciting interdisciplinary research area in current materials science. In the present study, size-tunable and water-soluble noble metal silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have been successfully synthesized with the assistance of glutathione (GSH). The as-synthesized Ag NPs are ready to bind covalently with a model protein (bovine serum albumin) in mild conditions. The optical property of surface-modifiable Ag NPs was extremely sensitive to their size and the surface modification, suggesting a potential in the biomedical analysis and detection. Furthermore, Ag NPs with an average diameter of ca. 6 nm effectively suppress the proliferation of human leukemic K562 cells in the dose-and time-dependent manners, suggesting the promising potential of Ag NPs in cancer therapy.
FEBS Letters, 2011
RNA processing is vital for the high fidelity and diversity of eukaryotic transcriptomes and the ... more RNA processing is vital for the high fidelity and diversity of eukaryotic transcriptomes and the encoded proteomes. However, control of RNA processing is not fully established. R RNA is a class of conserved large non-coding RNAs (murine Hepcarcin; human MALAT-1) up-regulated in carcinomas. Using antisense technology, we identified that RNA post-transcriptional modification is the most significant global function of R RNA. Specifically, processing of the pre-mRNAs of genes including Tissue Factor and Endoglin was altered by hydrolysis of R RNA/MALAT-1. These results support the hypothesis that R RNA/MALAT-1 is a regulatory molecule exerting roles in RNA post-transcriptional modification.
European Journal of Industrial Relations, 2004
This article starts with a brief review of the European Employment Strategy (EES) and a general e... more This article starts with a brief review of the European Employment Strategy (EES) and a general evaluation of its scope and limitations, then provides an assessment of the five-year review conducted by the European Commission. It examines the new form that has been given to the EES for the 2003 exercise, on the basis of the conclusions drawn from the five-year review. It argues that this change involves more than mere presentation, but fails to address the inherent limitations of the EES as currently constituted. Lastly, the article compares the employment guidelines with the original proposals made by the Commission, and draws conclusions regarding the balance of interests and forces in the policy-making process.
Chemical Physics Letters, 2008
The magnetic properties of ErSc2N@ C80, Er2ScN@ C80 and Er3N@ C80 metallofullerenes are character... more The magnetic properties of ErSc2N@ C80, Er2ScN@ C80 and Er3N@ C80 metallofullerenes are characterized in the temperature range 2 to 300K up to a magnetic field of 7T. The magnetic susceptibility of these fullerenes follows the CurieWeiss law. ...