257 research outputs found
Investigating the efficiency limitations of GaN-based emitters
In this study low temperature and high pressure techniques have been used to investigate the recombination processes taking place in InGaN-based quantum well light emitting diodes (LEDs) which have emission across the blue-green region. Despite relatively high peak efficiencies of the GaN-based emitters, there remain issues relating to the strong efficiency reduction at higher currents that are required for normal operation in most applications. It is observed that there is a relative reduction in efficiency as injection current is increased in a phenonmenon which is known as efficiency droop. There are three main arguments for the cause of efficiency droop that are discussed in the literature: non-radiative Auger recombination, carrier leakage and a defect-related loss mechanism. In spite of extensive research to date, there is little agreement on the cause of efficiency droop as most experiments can only measure the overall efficiency behaviour leading to difficulties in determining the individual contributions from the different loss mechanisms
Quality Assurance and Characterisation of NBâUVB Devices for use at home â Lessons from the HiâLight Vitiligo Trial
Seismogenic faults, landslides, and associated tsunamis off southern Italy - Cruise No. M86/2, December 27, 2011 - January 17, 2012, Cartagena (Spain) - Brindisi (Italy)
Summary
The continental margins of southern Italy are located along converging plate boundaries, which
are affected by intense seismicity and volcanic activity. Most of the coastal areas experienced
severe earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis in historical and/or modern times. The most
prominent example is the Messina earthquake of Dec. 28, 1908 (Ms=7.3; 80,000 casualties),
which was characterized by the worst tsunami Italy experienced in the historical time (~2000
casualties). It is, however, still unclear, whether this tsunami was triggered by a sudden vertical
movement along a major fault during the earthquake or as a result of a giant marine slide
initiated by the earthquake. The recurrence rates of major landslides and therefore the risk
associated with landslides is also unknown. Based on detailed bathymetric data sets collected by
Italian colleagues in the frame of the MaGIC Project (Marine Geohazards along the Italian
Coast), we collected seismic data (2D and 3D) and gravity cores in three working areas (The
Messina Straits, off Eastern Sicily, the Gioia Basin). A dense grid of new 2D-seismic data in the
Messina Straits will allow to map fault patterns in great detail. One interesting outcome in this
context is the identification of a set of normal faults striking in an EW-direction, which is almost
perpendicular to the previously postulated faults. This EW-striking faults seem to be active. The
area off eastern Sicily is characterized by numerous landslides and a complex deformation
pattern. A 3D-seismic data set has been collected during the cruise using the so called P-cable in
order to investigate these deformation patterns in detail. The new data will be the basis for a risk
assessment in the working areas
Hazardous explosive eruptions of a recharging multi-cyclic island arc caldera
Caldera-forming eruptions of silicic volcanic systems are among the most
devastating events on Earth. By contrast, post-collapse volcanic activity
initiating new caldera cycles is generally considered less hazardous.
Formed after Santoriniâs latest caldera-forming eruption of ~1600âbce, the
Kameni Volcano in the southern Aegean Sea enables the eruptive evolution
of a recharging multi-cyclic caldera to be reconstructed. Santoriniâs
eruptive record has been documented by onshore products and historical
descriptions of mainly effusive eruptions dating back to 197âbce. Here we
combine high-resolution seismic reflection data with cored lithologies
from International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 398 at four sites to
determine the submarine architecture and volcanic history of intra-caldera
deposits from Kameni. Our shore-crossing analysis reveals the deposits
of a submarine explosive eruption that produced up to 3.1âkm3
of pumice
and ash, which we relate to a historical eruption in 726âce. The estimated
volcanic explosivity index of magnitude 5 exceeds previously considered
worst-case eruptive scenarios for Santorini. Our finding that the Santorini
caldera is capable of producing large explosive eruptions at an early stage
in the caldera cycle implies an elevated hazard potential for the eastern
Mediterranean region, and potentially for other recharging silicic calderas
Submarine record of volcanic island construction and collapse in the Lesser Antilles arc: First scientific drilling of submarine volcanic island landslides by IODP Expedition 340
IODP Expedition 340 successfully drilled a series of sites offshore Montserrat, Martinique and Dominica in the Lesser Antilles from March to April 2012. These are among the few drill sites gathered around volcanic islands, and the first scientific drilling of large and likely tsunamigenic volcanic island-arc landslide deposits. These cores provide evidence and tests of previous hypotheses for the composition and origin of those deposits. Sites U1394, U1399, and U1400 that penetrated landslide deposits recovered exclusively seafloor-sediment, comprising mainly turbidites and hemipelagic deposits, and lacked debris avalanche deposits. This supports the concepts that i/ volcanic debris avalanches tend to stop at the slope break, and ii/ widespread and voluminous failures of pre-existing low-gradient seafloor sediment can be triggered by initial emplacement of material from the volcano. Offshore Martinique (U1399 and 1400), the landslide deposits comprised blocks of parallel strata that were tilted or micro-faulted, sometimes separated by intervals of homogenized sediment (intense shearing), while Site U1394 offshore Montserrat penetrated a flat-lying block of intact strata. The most likely mechanism for generating these large-scale seafloor-sediment failures appears to be propagation of a decollement from proximal areas loaded and incised by a volcanic debris avalanche. These results have implications for the magnitude of tsunami generation. Under some conditions, volcanic island landslide deposits comprised of mainly seafloor sediment will tend to form smaller magnitude tsunamis than equivalent volumes of subaerial block-rich mass flows rapidly entering water. Expedition 340 also successfully drilled sites to access the undisturbed record of eruption fallout layers intercalated with marine sediment which provide an outstanding high-resolution dataset to analyze eruption and landslides cycles, improve understanding of magmatic evolution as well as offshore sedimentation processes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Identification of Novel Therapeutic Targets in Microdissected Clear Cell Ovarian Cancers
Clear cell ovarian cancer is an epithelial ovarian cancer histotype that is less responsive to chemotherapy and carries poorer prognosis than serous and endometrioid histotypes. Despite this, patients with these tumors are treated in a similar fashion as all other ovarian cancers. Previous genomic analysis has suggested that clear cell cancers represent a unique tumor subtype. Here we generated the first whole genomic expression profiling using epithelial component of clear cell ovarian cancers and normal ovarian surface specimens isolated by laser capture microdissection. All the arrays were analyzed using BRB ArrayTools and PathwayStudio software to identify the signaling pathways. Identified pathways validated using serous, clear cell cancer cell lines and RNAi technology. In vivo validations carried out using an orthotopic mouse model and liposomal encapsulated siRNA. Patient-derived clear cell and serous ovarian tumors were grafted under the renal capsule of NOD-SCID mice to evaluate the therapeutic potential of the identified pathway. We identified major activated pathways in clear cells involving in hypoxic cell growth, angiogenesis, and glucose metabolism not seen in other histotypes. Knockdown of key genes in these pathways sensitized clear cell ovarian cancer cell lines to hypoxia/glucose deprivation. In vivo experiments using patient derived tumors demonstrate that clear cell tumors are exquisitely sensitive to antiangiogenesis therapy (i.e. sunitinib) compared with serous tumors. We generated a histotype specific, gene signature associated with clear cell ovarian cancer which identifies important activated pathways critical for their clinicopathologic characteristics. These results provide a rational basis for a radically different treatment for ovarian clear cell patients
The Cressey hypothesis (1953) and an investigation into the occurrence of corporate fraud: an empirical analysis conducted in Brazilian banking institutions
Chromosome conformation signatures define predictive markers of inadequate response to methotrexate in early rheumatoid arthritis
The authors would like to thank members of OBD Reference Facility Benjamin Foulkes, Chloe Bird, Emily Corfeld and Matthew Salter for expedient processing of clinical samples on the EpiSwitchâą platform and Magdalena Jeznach and Willem Westra for help with preparation of the manuscript. The study employed samples from the SERA Biobank used with permission and approval of the SERA Approval Group. We gratefully acknowledge the invaluable contribution of the clinicians and operating team in SERA. We would also like to thank Prof. Raju Kucherlapati (Harvard Medical School), and Prof. Jane Mellor (Oxford Univ.), Prof. John OâShea (National Institute of Health) and Prof. John Isaacs (New Castle Univ.) for their independent and critical review of our study. A list of Scottish Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (SERA) inception cohort investigators is provided in Additional fle 1: Additional Note. Funding This work was funded by Oxford BioDynamics.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
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