Recent discoveries in colloidal nanoplasmonics

Nanoplasmonics can be defined as the control of the flow of light by objects that are smaller than the light wavelength. The most common nanomaterials for nanoplasmonics are metal nanoparticles, which display intense absorption and scattering in the visible and near-IR due to localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR). Such resonances can be tuned through the size and shape of the nanoparticles, and therefore optimization of fabrication methods has been an active area of research, where many concepts are still under debate and monodispersity is still an issue, meaning that non-specific broadening of the LSPR bands is thought to be inherent to colloidal systems. Recent progress toward improving synthesis of “optically monodisperse” plasmonic colloids will be presented. On the other hand, the assembly of nanoparticle building blocks can be exploited toward the amplification of the properties of the components and/or the generation of new features unique to the ensemble. A novel concept has been recently reported in which mixed nanoparticle (e.g. gold and iron oxide) mono- and multi-layers can be generated as crystal-like films on top of a liquid. Upon removal of the iron oxide particles, a lattice of gold nanoparticles remains with a specific internal architecture. Among numerous other applications, these open crystalline structures may help creating porous films with a mesh of predefined holes where analytes can be trapped and identified by SERS.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Holding it all together? The management of supply cover in the teaching profession

There have for some years been concerns in Scotland about the availability of supply cover, the quality of supply teachers and the adequacy of support and development provided for them. This is a report of a study which focuses on the management of supply cover in Scotland. It presents an analysis of qualitative and quantitative data collected from education authorities, schools and supply teachers

The management of supply cover in the teaching profession

There have for some years been concerns in Scotland about the availability of supplycover, the quality of supply teachers, and the adequacy of support and developmentprovided for them. This Insighthighlights key findings from a study of the managementof supply cover in Scotland. The research was commissioned by the Scottish ExecutiveEducation Department in October 2002 to inform the development of guidelines

Indirect photometric chromatography of iodide ion in aqueous solutions

Indirect photometric chromatography was applied to the detection and quantification of iodide ion in aqueous solutions. A Nucleosil SB column containing the trimethylamine functional group was utilized in this HPLC study to compare the selectivity and reproducibility of copper (II) nitrate, trimesic acid, and phthalic acid eluents. Trimesic acid eluent was the strongest eluent, R.(I~)=3.5min, followed by phthalic acid, R.(I~ )=14.6min, and copper nitrate, R. (I~)=15.5min, assuming optimum conditions. Both aromatic eluents were held onto the column by adsorption reactions with the styrene-divinylbenzene matrix of the resin. Irreversible column damage was the result. Coupled with the fact that the copper nitrate was such a weak eluent, it was concluded that these eluents were unsuitable for the IPC method in obtaining quantitative results in the detection of iodide ion

PREVIEW—Park County Environmental Council v. Montana Department of Environmental Quality: A Test of Montana’s Right to a Clean and Healthful Environment

The Supreme Court of Montana will hear oral arguments in this matter on Wednesday, September 30, 2020, at 9:30 a.m. in the Mazurek Justice Building in Helena, Montana. This case challenges a key provision of Montana’s bedrock environmental law—the Montana Environmental Policy Act (“MEPA”)—and tests the judicial power of the state’s constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment to issue injunctions to prevent environmental harm

Transplant Location Dependent Mitigation Of Traumatic Brain Injury Pathology and Motor Deficit in Rats

Penetrating traumatic brain injury(PTBI) is common in the USA and worldwide, outcome remains poor in survivors. In the absence of “neuroprotective” therapies, progressive secondary tissue loss after PTBI underlies disability among survivors. This study tests transplantation of human neural stem cells (hNSCs) as a treatment to mitigate lesion in penetrating ballistic-like brain injury (PBBI), a rat PTBI model. One-week post PBBI male Sprague Dawley rats (7-10/group) were randomized to: (1) injured treated with vehicle (media, no cells), (2) uninjured (sham+hNSCs), two PBBI groups (PBBI+hNSC) either (3) into surrounding (peri) or (4) within lesion core(intra), one million cells were stereotactically microinjected into brains of immunosuppressed group 2-4. Motor function was assessed on grid walk prior to euthanasia at 12 weeks post-transplantation. Lesion size, axonal injury was quantitated with Matlab based scripts of brain sections stained with histochemical stains. Lesion size and remote secondary axotomy were significantly reduced in transplant groups. Engraftment or neuronal differentiation did not differ between groups 3 and 4, despite being higher than in sham. On the grid walk test, sham animals had fewer foot faults than vehicle group as expected. Compared to vehicle, groups 3 and 4 had significantly reduced foot faults but still significantly higher than control. A two-way ANOVA of the rat brain cortical tissue quantity between +3.72 mm and -0.28 mm bregma (rat motor cortex) there was significant interaction between bregma levels and treatment. There was reduction in lesion size in both transplant groups (p\u3c0.05). Lesion seize reduction was due to significant increase in tissue sparing in the perilesional transplant group compared to vehicle (p\u3c0.01). One-way ANOVA revealed no statistically significant differences in spared tissue between two transplant groups but greater sparing of the motor cortex in perilesional transplantation. The concomitant reduction in lesion area and increased cortical tissue sparing suggests that transplantation of hNSCs reduced the progression of PBBI induced cortical atrophy, spared motor cortex reduced secondary axotomy may be associated with improved motor performance in transplant groups. This data provides a rationale for use of hNSC transplants to mitigate PTBI induced secondary tissue loss. Perilesional rather than intralesional transplantation conferred greater neuroprotection