Summary of Howard v. State, 128 Nev. Adv. Op. 67

The Court considered the State’s motion to reconsider and other various motions regarding the sealing of the ex parte motion to substitute counsel. It further deliberated whether documents and records could be filed under seal in a pending criminal case before the Court. In addition, the Court also addressed the requirements and procedures for sealing such documents and records

Student Attitudes On Academic Integrity Violations

The purpose of this study is to assess college students' perceptions on the level of seriousness of academic integrity violations

Demographics of Digital Cheating: Who Cheats, and What Can We Do About It?

The demographics and attitudes of students to cheating on a small, southern, urban, liberal arts institution were surveyed in terms of gender, extra-curricular activities , church attendance, age, and classification (undergraduate and graduate). Some of the prominent literature on demographics and academic violations is reviewed. The study concludes that at least 90% of students surveyed engage in some form of cheating, and students did not view digital cheating as an academic violation. This sample indicated that there is no significant difference in propensities to cheat among the variables included in this survey. Some possible measures are listed to help deter cheating on college campuses

Open Access: A Model for Sharing Published Conservation Research

This article has been reprinted with the permission of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works, 1156 15th Street, NW, Suite 320, Washington, DC 20005, from the May 2014 edition (Vol. 39, No. 3) of AIC News. [email protected] • www.conservation-us.or

Actuation behaviour of a derivatized pyrrole accordion type polymer

A monomer (Phenazine-2,3-diimino(pyrrole-2-yl)–PDP) derived from the condensation reaction between 2,3-diaminophenazine and a pyrrole derivative has been synthesized as a hinge molecule in the design of a zig-zag polymer. The monomer was polymerized both chemically and electrochemically in order to produce the polymer material, phenazine-2,3-diimino(pyrrole-2-yl (PPDP). During electrochemical polymerization the system was doped using 1,4-napthaquinone sulphonic acid (NQSA) and polyvinylsulfonic acid (PVSA) respectively, to improve conductivity. Characterization of the materials by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the successful linking of the starting materials to produce the hinge molecule and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) supported the FTIR data. The electrochemistry of the polymer in the doped and undoped state was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)

Influence of quantum dot surface on electrochemical DNA sensing mechanism

Owing to their high surface‐to‐volume ratio, electrocatalytic activity, biocompatibility and novel electron transport properties, quantum dots (QDs) are highly attractive materials for the ultrasensitive detection of biological macromolecules via bioelectronic devices. In this study, a QD‐based genosensor was developed, in which Ga2Te3‐based QDs were synthesized using an aqueous solution approach by mixing 3‐mercaptosuccinic acid (3MSA)‐capped gallium metal precursor with reduced tellurium metal. The results enabled us to reach an original understanding related to the active material involved in the probe DNA sensing mechanism. The morphological and structural characterization of the QDs was performed prior to their utilization in a DNA sensor construction. High‐resolution TEM (HR‐TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) images confirmed the spherical and crystalline nature of the QDs, whereas X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analyses were able to confirm the oxidation states and formation of the prepared QDs. UV/Vis was capable of finding the optical band gap energy and the photostability of the QDs. The resultant Ga2Te3 QDs together with metal ions confirmed their use for DNA signal detection through their DNA binding mechanism in the genosensor construction. Genosensing in Cs+ and Li+ ions exhibited high sensitivity (2.74–3.69 μA ng−1 mL) and very low detection limits (0.4 pg mL−1) with a linear dynamic range of 0.1–1 ng mL−1

Electrochemically reduced graphene oxide pencil-graphite in situ plated bismuth-film electrode for the determination of trace metals by anodic stripping voltammetry

An electrochemical platform was developed based on a pencil-graphite electrode (PGE) modified with electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ERGO) sheets and in conjunction with an in situ plated bismuth-film (ERGO-PG-BiE). The ERGO-PG-BiE was used as a sensing platform for determining Zn2+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). ERGO sheets were deposited on to pencil-graphite electrodes by cyclic voltammetric reduction from a graphene oxide (GO) solution. The GO, with flake thicknesses varying between 1.78 to 2.10 nm (2 sheets) was characterized using FT-IR, HR-SEM, HR-TEM, AFM, XRD and Raman spectroscopy. Parameters influencing the electroanalytical response of the ERGO-PG-BiE such as, bismuth-film concentration, deposition potential, deposition time and rotation speed were investigated and optimized. The ERGO-PG-BiE gave well-defined, reproducible peaks with detection limits of 0.19 μg L-1, 0.09 μg L-1 and 0.12 μg L-1 for Zn2+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ respectively, at a deposition time of 120 seconds. For real sample analysis, the enhanced voltammetric sensor proved to be suitable for the detection and quantitation of heavy metals below the US EPA prescribed drinking water standards of 5 mg L-1, 5 μg L-1 and 15 μg L-1 for Zn2+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ respectively

Metallo-Graphene Nanocomposite Electrocatalytic Platform for the Determination of Toxic Metal Ions

A Nafion-Graphene (Nafion-G) nanocomposite solution in combination with an in situ plated mercury film electrode was used as a highly sensitive electrochemical platform for the determination of Zn2+, Cd2+, Pb2+ and Cu2+ in 0.1 M acetate buffer (pH 4.6) by square-wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). Various operational parameters such as deposition potential, deposition time and electrode rotation speed were optimized. The Nafion-G nanocomposite sensing platform exhibited improved sensitivity for metal ion detection, in addition to well defined, reproducible and sharp stripping signals. The linear calibration curves ranged from 1 μg L−1 to 7 μg L−1 for individual analysis. The detection limits (3σ blank/slope) obtained were 0.07 μg L−1 for Pb2+, Zn2+ and Cu2+ and 0.08 μg L−1 for Cd2+ at a deposition time of 120 s. For practical applications recovery studies was done by spiking test samples with known concentrations and comparing the results with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analyses. This was followed by real sample analysis