Superhydrophilicity-assisted preparation of transparent and visible light activated N-doped titania film

A novel and environmental friendly method was developed to prepare transparent, uniform, crack-free and visible light activated nitrogen doped (N-doped) titania thin films without the use of organic Ti precursors and organic solvents. The N-doped titania films were prepared from heating aqueous peroxotitanate thin films deposited uniformly on superhydrophilic uncoated glass substrates. The pure glass substrates were superhydrophilic after being heated at 500 degrees C for 1 h. Nitrogen concentrations in the titania films were adjusted by changing the amount of ammonia solution. The optimal photocatalytic activity of the N-doped titania films was about 14 times higher than that of a commercial self-cleaning glass under the same visible light illumination. The current reported preparative technique is generally applicable for the preparation of other thin films.Nanyang Technological University [1 RG29/07

Periodic assessment of (ET-1) and Nitric Oxide (NO) in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP)

INTRODUCTION Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy (HDP) is an independent risk factor of cardiovascular (CVS) disease. Endothelin-1 (ET-1), a potent vasoconstrictor, has been identified as a pivotal mediator in both essential hypertension and HDP. Disturbances in Nitric Oxide (NO) bioavailability found in endothelial dysfunction may increase susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases. METHODOLOGY Thirty six pregnant women at 30-36 weeks period of gestation from the following categories (i) pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) (ii) chronic hypertension during pregnancy (CH) and (iii) normal pregnant women (Control). Blood pressure indices measurements and sample collection was done at antepartum (30-36 weeks), post partum (8 weeks and 12 weeks). Endothelin-1 and serum NO were measured using the Human ET-1 (Endothelin-1) and NO ELISA Kit. RESULTS All blood pressure indices were significantly higher in HDP patients compared to control during antenatal and post partum periods. Serum ET-1 was significantly higher in patients with HDP compared to control during antenatal until 3 months post partum. This was accompanied by significantly lower levels of serum NO in HDP patients. CONCLUSION Persistently high levels of ET-1 and low levels of NO up to 3 months post partum in patients with history of HDP indicate presence of persistent endothelial dysfunction despite BP normalisation in PIH patients. Long term NO/ET-1 imbalance may account for the increased CVS disease risk

The effect of charge location in ion mobility mass spectrometry for small molecule analytes

In travelling wave IM-MS an electric field is applied across the IMS cell and analyte collisions with the inert gas give rise to a relationship between the drift time and the molecular shape and overall charge. Recent findings show near baseline IMS separation (R>1) where shape and overall charge appear not to explain the IMS separation. Multiple ion mobility peaks are observed for a single m/z including the fluoroquinolone antibiotics norfloxacin and lomefloxacin, the pesticide indoxacarb and a number of steroids

Battery-less near field communications (nfc) sensors for internet of things (iot) applications

L’ implementació de la tecnologia de comunicació de camp proper (NFC) en els telèfons intel·ligents no para de créixer degut a l’ús d’aquesta per fer pagaments, això, junt amb el fet de poder aprofitar l’energia generada pel mòbil no només per la comunicació, sinó també per transmetre energia, el baix cost dels xips NFC, i el fet de que els telèfons tinguin connectivitat amb internet, possibilita i fa molt interesant el disseny d’etiquetes sense bateria incorporant-hi sensors i poder enviar la informació al núvol, dins del creixent escenari de l’internet de les coses (IoT). La present Tesi estudia la viabilitat d’aquests sensors, analitzant la màxima distància entre lector i sensor per proveir la potència necessària, presenta tècniques per augmentar el rang d’operació, i analitza els efectes de certs materials quan aquests estan propers a les antenes. Diversos sensors han estat dissenyats i analitzats i son presentats en aquest treball. Aquests son: Una etiqueta que mesura la humitat de la terra, la temperatura i la humitat relativa de l’aire per controlar les condicions de plantes. Un sensor per detectar la humitat en bolquers, imprès en material flexible que s’adapta a la forma del bolquer. Dues aplicacions, una per estimació de pH i una altre per avaluar el grau de maduració de fruites, basats en un sensor de color. I, per últim, s’estudia la viabilitat de sensors en implants per aplicacions mèdiques, analitzant l’efecte del cos i proposant un sistema per augmentar la profunditat a la que aquests es poden llegir utilitzant un telèfon mòbil. Tots aquests sensors poden ser alimentats i llegits per qualsevol dispositiu que disposin de connexió NFC.La implementación de la tecnología de comunicaciones de campo cercano (NFC) en los teléfonos inteligentes no para de crecer debido al uso de esta para llevar a cabo pagos, esto, junto con el hecho de poder aprovechar la energía generada por el móvil no sólo para la comunicación, sino también para transmitir energía, el bajo coste de los chips NFC, i el hecho que los teléfonos tengan conectividad a internet, posibilita y hace muy interesante el diseño de etiquetas sin batería que incorporen sensores i poder enviar la información a la nube, enmarcado en el creciente escenario del internet de las cosas (IoT). La presente Tesis estudia la viabilidad de estos sensores, analizando la máxima distancia entre lector i sensor para proveer la potencia necesaria, presenta técnicas para aumentar el rango de operación, y analiza los efectos de ciertos materiales cuando estos están cerca de las antenas. Varios sensores han sido diseñados y analizados y son presentados en este trabajo. Estos son: Una etiqueta que mide la humedad de la tierra, la temperatura y la humedad relativa del aire para controlar las condiciones de plantas. Un sensor para detectar la humedad en pañales, impreso en material flexible que se adapta a la forma del pañal. Dos aplicaciones, una para estimación de pH y otra para evaluar el grado de maduración de frutas, basados en un sensor de color. Y, por último, se estudia la viabilidad de sensores en implantes para aplicaciones médicas, analizando el efecto del cuerpo y proponiendo un sistema para aumentar la profundidad a la que estos se pueden leer usando un teléfono móvil. Todos estos sensores pueden ser alimentados y leídos por cualquier dispositivo que disponga de conexión NFC.The implementation of near field communication (NFC) technology into smartphones grows rapidly due the use of this technology as a payment system. This, altogether with the fact that the energy generated by the phone can be used not only to communicate but for power transfer as well, the low-cost of the NFC chips, and the fact that the smartphones have connectivity to internet, makes possible and very interesting the design of battery-less sensing tags which information can be sent to the cloud, within the growing internet of things (IoT) scenario. This Thesis studies the feasibility of these sensors, analysing the maximum distance between reader and sensor to provide the necessary power, presents techniques to increase the range of operation, and analyses the effects of certain materials when they are near to the antennas. Several sensors have been designed and analysed and are presented in this work. These are: a tag that measures the soil moisture, the temperature and the relative humidity of the air to control the conditions of plants. A moisture sensor for diapers, printed on flexible material that adapts to the diaper shape. Two applications, one for pH estimation and another for assessing the degree of fruit ripening, based on a colour sensor. And finally, the feasibility of sensors in implants for medical applications is studied, analysing the effect of the body and proposing a system to increase the depth at which they can be read using a mobile phone. All of these sensors can be powered and read by any NFC enabled device

Chemistry & Chemical Biology 2013 APR Self-Study & Documents

UNM Chemistry & Chemical Biology APR self-study report, review team report, response to review report, and initial action plan for Spring 2013, fulfilling requirements of the Higher Learning Commission

The HBP1 tumor suppressor is a negative epigenetic regulator of MYCN driven neuroblastoma through interaction with the PRC2 complex

C

Study on open science: The general state of the play in Open Science principles and practices at European life sciences institutes

Nowadays, open science is a hot topic on all levels and also is one of the priorities of the European Research Area. Components that are commonly associated with open science are open access, open data, open methodology, open source, open peer review, open science policies and citizen science. Open science may a great potential to connect and influence the practices of researchers, funding institutions and the public. In this paper, we evaluate the level of openness based on public surveys at four European life sciences institute

Transparent visible light activated C-N-F-codoped TiO2 films for self-cleaning applications

The current work reports a potential technology for fabricating visible light activated doped TiO2 coatings for self-cleaning applications. Transparent C-N-F-codoped TiO2 films with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity and non-light activated superwettability were successfully prepared by a simple layer-by-layer dip-coating method using TiO2 sol and NH4F methanol solution as precursors. The current coating method prevents the reactions of F- ions with the glass substrate and hence resulting in a uniform and transparent coating. It also creates TiO2 coating with high surface roughness without an additional pore-inducing agent and generates non-irradiated superhydrophilic surface. Contact angles of the C-N-F-codoped TiO2 films were 2.3-3.1 degrees in the absence of any illumination and they rose slowly in the dark (<1.8 degrees in 30 days). The C-N-F-codoped TiO2 films showed strong visible-light absorption and enhanced photocatalytic activity for stearic acid decomposition under visible light irradiation, which was 5 times higher than that of C-doped TiO2 film. Our DFT calculations also showed that increasing N:F doping ratio leads to band gap narrowing of TiO2. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Nanyang Technological University AcRF Tier 1 [RG29/07]; NT