184 research outputs found
Mechanisms for current-induced conductivity changes in a conducting polymer
A layer of polyethylene dioxythiophene:polystyrene sulfonic acid (PEDT:PSS) spun onto the surface of an inorganic semiconductor forms a highly asymmetric rectifying junction when a small current is applied and can be permanently open circuited with application of a high current density. This allows the polymer/semiconductor junction to function as a write-once-read-many-times memory element. We use x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and temperature induced conductivity measurements to study the morphological and chemical changes responsible for the large current-induced conductivity changes. It is found that by applying a large current to the organic-inorganic semiconductor rectifying heterojunction structure Au/PEDT:PSS/SiAu∕PEDT:PSS∕Si, the ratio of PEDT+PEDT+ to PSS−PSS− near the interface changes due to phase segregation in the presence of both high electric field (>105 V/cm)(>105V∕cm) and temperature. This leads to a decrease in film conductivity by up to six orders of magnitude from its value in the conductive state.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87796/2/142109_1.pd
Reshaping Cities in Our Historic Context
【中文文摘】城市是历史时代的产物—它们导致的结果却是对我们星球上的生物及物资资源的巨大浪费。因此,城市应被看作是一个生命系统,类似于其它生命系统,诸如生物体一样共同遵循生态法则,同时城市应回到为人而设计的初衷。21世纪的人类生态建设最重要的选择就是根据“就近原理”建设一些密集的多功能的复合型建筑,尽可能地避免无计划地使用土地。这种建设方式是健康的,也是为有机体以及村庄、乡镇和城市设计的关键所在。
【英文文摘】Cities are the production of certain historical period—they lead to great waste in living andrecourses. So, city should be regarded as a life system,similar to other ones. At the same time,city isdesigned for human beings. And the most important choice of biological construction in 21 century is toconstruct some crowded, mixed functional buildings and avoid planless land use as much as possible. This isthe healthy way and is key to organism and village,town and city desig
Curvature as a Guiding Field for Patterns in Thin Block Copolymer Films
Experimental data on thin films of cylinder-forming block copolymers (BC)—free-standing BCmembranes as well as supported BC films—strongly suggest that the local orientation of the BC patternsis coupled to the geometry in which the patterns are embedded. We analyze this phenomenon using generalsymmetry considerations and numerical self-consistent field studies of curved BC films in cylindricalgeometry. The stability of the films against curvature-induced dewetting is also analyzed. In goodagreement with experiments, we find that the BC cylinders tend to align along the direction of curvature athigh curvatures. At low curvatures, we identify a transition from perpendicular to parallel alignment insupported films, which is absent in free-standing membranes. Hence both experiments and theory show thatcurvature can be used to manipulate and align BC patterns.Fil: Vu, Giang Thi. Johannes Gutenberg Universitat Mainz; AlemaniaFil: Abate, Anabella Angela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Física del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Física del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Gomez, Leopoldo Raimundo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Física del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Física del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Pezzutti, Aldo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Física del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Física del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Register, Richard A.. University of Princeton; Estados UnidosFil: Vega, Daniel Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Física del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Física del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Schmid, Friederike. Johannes Gutenberg Universitat Mainz; Alemani
Combo Night 2011
UNF Music Flagship Program Presents Combo Night Featuring UNF Jazz Studies Students
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 UNF Fine Arts Center - Choir Room, 140
Polymer Crystallization in 25 nm Spheres
Crystallization within the discrete spheres of a block copolymer mesophase
was studied by time-resolved x-ray scattering. The cubic packing of
microdomains, established by self-assembly in the melt, is preserved throughout
crystallization by strong interblock segregation even though the amorphous
matrix block is well above its glass transition temperature. Homogeneous
nucleation within each sphere yields isothermal crystallizations which follow
first-order kinetics, contrasting with the sigmoidal kinetics normally
exhibited in the quiescent crystallization of bulk polymers.Comment: accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters, 2/28/2000;
scheduled for 5/1/2000 issu
The use of cessation assistance among smokers from China: Findings from the ITC China Survey
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Stop smoking medications significantly increase the likelihood of smoking cessation. However, there are no population-based studies of stop-smoking medication use in China, the largest tobacco market in the world. This study examined stop-smoking medication use and its association with quitting behavior among a population-based sample of Chinese smokers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 4,627 smokers from six cities in the ITC China cohort survey. Longitudinal analyses were conducted using Wave 1 (April to August, 2006) and Wave 2 (November 2007 to January 2008).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Approximately 26% of smokers had attempted to quit between Waves 1 and 2, and 6% were abstinent at 18-month follow-up. Only 5.8% of those attempting to quit reported NRT use and NRT was associated with lower odds of abstinence at Wave 2 (OR = 0.11; 95%CI = 0.03-0.46). Visiting a doctor/health professional was associated with greater attempts to quit smoking (OR = 1.60 and 2.78; 95%CI = 1.22-2.10 and 2.21-3.49 respectively) and being abstinent (OR = 1.77 and 1.85; 95%CI = 1.18-2.66 and 1.13-3.04 respectively) at 18-month follow-up relative to the smokers who did not visit doctor/health professional.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The use of formal help for smoking cessation is low in China. There is an urgent need to explore the use and effectiveness of stop-smoking medications in China and in other non-Western markets.</p
Algorithmic approach to finding people with multiple sclerosis using routine healthcare data in Wales
Background Identification of multiple sclerosis (MS) cases in routine healthcare data repositories remains challenging. MS can have a protracted diagnostic process and is rarely identified as a primary reason for admission to the hospital. Difficulties in identification are compounded in systems that do not include insurance or payer information concerning drug treatments or non-notifiable disease.
Aim To develop an algorithm to reliably identify MS cases within a national health data bank.
Method Retrospective analysis of the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) databank was used to identify MS cases using a novel algorithm. Sensitivity and specificity were tested using two existing independent MS datasets, one clinically validated and population-based and a second from a self-registered MS national registry.
Results From 4 757 428 records, the algorithm identified 6194 living cases of MS within Wales on 31 December 2020 (prevalence 221.65 (95% CI 216.17 to 227.24) per 100 000). Case-finding sensitivity and specificity were 96.8% and 99.9% for the clinically validated population-based cohort and sensitivity was 96.7% for the self-declared registry population.
Discussion The algorithm successfully identified MS cases within the SAIL databank with high sensitivity and specificity, verified by two independent populations and has important utility in large-scale epidemiological studies of MS
Mouse models of rhinovirus-induced disease and exacerbation of allergic airway inflammation
Rhinoviruses cause serious morbidity and mortality as the major etiological agents of asthma exacerbations and the common cold. A major obstacle to understanding disease pathogenesis and to the development of effective therapies has been the lack of a small-animal model for rhinovirus infection. Of the 100 known rhinovirus serotypes, 90% (the major group) use human intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) as their cellular receptor and do not bind mouse ICAM-1; the remaining 10% (the minor group) use a member of the low-density lipoprotein receptor family and can bind the mouse counterpart. Here we describe three novel mouse models of rhinovirus infection: minor-group rhinovirus infection of BALB/c mice, major-group rhinovirus infection of transgenic BALB/c mice expressing a mouse-human ICAM-1 chimera and rhinovirus-induced exacerbation of allergic airway inflammation. These models have features similar to those observed in rhinovirus infection in humans, including augmentation of allergic airway inflammation, and will be useful in the development of future therapies for colds and asthma exacerbations
Characteristics and management of HIV-1-infected pregnant women enrolled in a randomised trial: differences between Europe and the USA
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rates of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 (MTCT) have historically been lower in European than in American cohort studies, possibly due to differences in population characteristics. The Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group Protocol (PACTG) 316 trial evaluated the effectiveness of the addition of intrapartum/neonatal nevirapine in reducing MTCT in women already receiving antiretroviral prophylaxis. Participation of large numbers of pregnant HIV-infected women from the US and Western Europe enrolling in the same clinical trial provided the opportunity to identify and explore differences in their characteristics and in the use of non-study interventions to reduce MTCT.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this secondary analysis, 1350 women were categorized according to enrollment in centres in the USA (n = 978) or in Europe (n = 372). Factors associated with receipt of highly active antiretroviral therapy and with elective caesarean delivery were identified with logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In Europe, women enrolled were more likely to be white and those of black race were mainly born in Sub-Saharan Africa. Women in the US were younger and more likely to have previous pregnancies and miscarriages and a history of sexually transmitted infections.</p> <p>More than 90% of women did not report symptoms of their HIV infection; however, more women from the US had symptoms (8%), compared to women from Europe (4%). Women in the US were less likely to have HIV RNA levels <400 copies/ml at delivery than women enrolling in Europe, and more likely to receive highly active antiretroviral therapy, and to start therapy earlier in pregnancy. The elective caesarean delivery rate in Europe was 61%, significantly higher than that in the US (22%). Overall, 1.48% of infants were infected and there was no significant difference in the rate of transmission between Europe and the US despite the different approaches to treatment and delivery.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings confirm that there are important historical differences between the HIV-infected pregnant populations in Western Europe and the USA, both in terms of the characteristics of the women and their obstetric and therapeutic management. Although highly active antiretroviral therapy predominates in pregnancy in both settings now, population differences are likely to remain.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>NCT00000869</p
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