PIN1 TREATMENT OF HEPATITIS C INFECTION FOR CURRENT OR FORMER SUBSTANCE ABUSERS IN A COMMUNITY SETTING

We report the use of PbS nanocrystals within a hybrid device that emits 1.2 mu m electroluminescence with an external quantum efficiency of 1.15% corresponding to an internal quantum efficiency of similar to 5%-12% thus demonstrating a viable, low-cost, highly efficient near infrared organic electroluminescent device. Direct generation of the excited state on the nanocrystal result in eliminating competing processes that have previously led to the low reported efficiencies in near-infrared light emitting devices. Furthermore, the emission wavelength can be tuned to cover a wide range of wavelengths including the 1.3-1.5 mu m region without significant change of the efficiency. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics

An optoelectronic framework enabled by low-dimensional phase-change films.

Accepted author version. The definitive version was published in: Nature 511, 206–211 (10 July 2014) doi:10.1038/nature13487The development of materials whose refractive index can be optically transformed as desired, such as chalcogenide-based phase-change materials, has revolutionized the media and data storage industries by providing inexpensive, high-speed, portable and reliable platforms able to store vast quantities of data. Phase-change materials switch between two solid states--amorphous and crystalline--in response to a stimulus, such as heat, with an associated change in the physical properties of the material, including optical absorption, electrical conductance and Young's modulus. The initial applications of these materials (particularly the germanium antimony tellurium alloy Ge2Sb2Te5) exploited the reversible change in their optical properties in rewritable optical data storage technologies. More recently, the change in their electrical conductivity has also been extensively studied in the development of non-volatile phase-change memories. Here we show that by combining the optical and electronic property modulation of such materials, display and data visualization applications that go beyond data storage can be created. Using extremely thin phase-change materials and transparent conductors, we demonstrate electrically induced stable colour changes in both reflective and semi-transparent modes. Further, we show how a pixelated approach can be used in displays on both rigid and flexible films. This optoelectronic framework using low-dimensional phase-change materials has many likely applications, such as ultrafast, entirely solid-state displays with nanometre-scale pixels, semi-transparent 'smart' glasses, 'smart' contact lenses and artificial retina devices.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)OUP John Fell Fun

Electrically injected 164µm emitting In065Ga035As 3-QW laser diodes grown on mismatched substrates by MOVPE

We report the characteristics of the strained In0.65Ga0.35As triple quantum well (QW) diode lasers grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) on lattice-mismatched substrates such as GaAs or Si, by utilizing InP metamorphic buffer layers (MBLs) in conjunction with InAs nanostructure-based dislocation filters. As the lattice-mismatch between the substrate and InP MBL increases, higher threshold current densities and lower slope efficiencies were observed, together with higher temperature sensitivities for the threshold current and slope efficiency. Structural analysis performed by both high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) and transmission electron microscopy indicates graded and/or rougher QW interfaces within the active region grown on the mismatched substrate, which accounts for the observed devices characteristics

Assessing the effect of insecticide-treated cattle on tsetse abundance and trypanosome transmission at the wildlife-livestock interface in Serengeti, Tanzania

In the absence of national control programmes against Rhodesian human African trypanosomiasis, farmer-led treatment of cattle with pyrethroid-based insecticides may be an effective strategy for foci at the edges of wildlife areas, but there is limited evidence to support this. We combined data on insecticide use by farmers, tsetse abundance and trypanosome prevalence, with mathematical models, to quantify the likely impact of insecticide-treated cattle. Sixteen percent of farmers reported treating cattle with a pyrethroid, and chemical analysis indicated 18% of individual cattle had been treated, in the previous week. Treatment of cattle was estimated to increase daily mortality of tsetse by 5–14%. Trypanosome prevalence in tsetse, predominantly from wildlife areas, was 1.25% for T. brucei s.l. and 0.03% for T. b. rhodesiense. For 750 cattle sampled from 48 herds, 2.3% were PCR positive for T. brucei s.l. and none for T. b. rhodesiense. Using mathematical models, we estimated there was 8–29% increase in mortality of tsetse in farming areas and this increase can explain the relatively low prevalence of T. brucei s.l. in cattle. Farmer-led treatment of cattle with pyrethroids is likely, in part, to be limiting the spill-over of human-infective trypanosomes from wildlife areas

Image analysis of Optical Coherence Tomography images of the urinary bladder for the recognition of bladder cancer

The vast majority of bladder cancers originate within 600 μm of the tissue surface, making Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) a potentially powerful tool for recognizing cancers that are not easily visible with current techniques. OCT is a new technology, however, and surgeons are not familiar with the resulting images. Technology able to analyze and provide diagnoses based on OCT images would improve the clinical utility of OCT systems. In addition, to avoid the need for gathering training data sets each time a new OCT system is used, it is important that the technology developed be system-independent. In this dissertation, I present an automated, system-independent algorithm that uses texture and image analysis to detect bladder cancer from OCT images. The algorithm was developed on and applied to 245 OCT images of bladder tissue (taken from three different systems and 35 patients) to classify the images as non-cancerous or cancerous. The results, when compared with the corresponding pathology, indicated that the algorithm was effective at differentiating cancerous from non-cancerous tissue with a sensitivity of 91%, and specificity of 78%. However, further testing of the algorithm on data received after algorithm development indicated that the previously designed algorithm was too dependent on the training data. The developed algorithm worked very well on the specific images used for development, but had been made so specific to the development set, that the algorithm did not work well on other data sets. While a complex algorithm is probably necessary to differentiate cancerous tissue from the wide range of non-cancerous pathologies, a simpler algorithm is necessary to avoid over-training the algorithm given a training set of limited size. A simpler algorithm was designed on a subset of the images available, and tested on the remaining images. By developing and training the algorithm on a subset of the images available, it was possible to test the algorithm on images that were completely independent from the test set. By comparing the results of the algorithm on the training set and the results of the algorithm on the test set, it was possible to recognize if the algorithm had been over-trained. The simpler algorithm had a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 64%, when tested on images not used for algorithm development and training, and a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 63% when tested on the training data. These values were very similar, so it was concluded that the algorithm was not over-trained. Furthermore, when the simpler algorithm was trained using a data set taken with one imaging system, and trained on images taken using a different imaging system, the sensitivity was 76%, and the specificity 66%. Since these values were also similar to the values mentioned above, it was concluded that the algorithm made it possible to compare images taken with two different imaging systems. The work described in this document offers a preliminary algorithm and design methodology. In order for the algorithm to be improved and verified, much more data taken from different imaging systems is required. However, with additional data, and further development, it should be possible to combine an algorithm similar to the one described in this dissertation with any OCT system for the purpose of guiding endoscopic biopsies toward tissue likely to contain cancer

Thrombosis in a congenitally bifurcated superior sagittal sinus

A 26-year-old woman had a peripartum venous thrombotic stroke involving the right parietal lobe. The initial thrombus was present only in the right channel of a congenitally bifurcated superior sagittal sinus. This diagnosis and subsequent thrombus extension were readily shown by magnetic resonance imaging in contrast to equivocal angiography. A subsequent, prospective review of 100 patients undergoing cranial magnetic resonance imaging showed the presence of similarly bifurcated superior sagittal sinuses in two. The patient stabilized after therapy with intravenous heparin, but switching her medication to oral warfarin sodium was followed by clinical deterioration and propagation of the thrombus, necessitating resumption of intravenous heparin. No coagulopathy was identified