Strong surface passivation of GaAs nanowires with ultrathin InP and GaP capping layers

We demonstrate efficient surface passivation of GaAs nanowires using ultrathin in-situ grown epitaxial InP and GaP capping layers, with metallo-organic vapor phase epitaxy as the growth system. The passivation increased photoluminescence intensity by three orders of magnitude compared to unpassivated nanowires, and the effect remained strong after a month of storage in air. Effective passivation was acquired over a wide range of growth temperatures, although the highest studied temperatures caused additional detrimental effects such as etching and GaAsP formation. The capping layer thickness was in the order of few monolayers. Therefore, the impact on any other properties of the nanowires besides the surface states was minuscule. As a simple and effective method the studied capping layers offer an excellent way for nanowire passivation.Peer reviewe

Cancer Incidence among Pesticide Applicators Exposed to Permethrin in the Agricultural Health Study

BACKGROUND: Permethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide widely used in agriculture, in public health, and in many U.S. homes and gardens. OBJECTIVE: In this study we evaluated the incidence of cancer among pesticide applicators exposed to permethrin in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS). METHODS: A total of 49,093 pesticide applicators were included in this analysis of the AHS, a prospective cohort study of licensed pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina. Detailed information on pesticide exposure and lifestyle factors was obtained from self-administered questionnaires completed in 1993-1997. Average length of follow-up since applicator enrollment in the cohort was 9.14 years. We used two permethrin exposure metrics: a) lifetime days applicators personally mixed or applied permethrin and b) intensity-weighted lifetime days (lifetime days weighted by estimated intensity of exposure). We used Poisson regression analysis to estimate relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for malignancies by tertiles of exposure. RESULTS: We found no associations between permethrin and all malignant neoplasms combined, or between permethrin and melanoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, or cancers of the colon, rectum, lung, or prostate. We found elevated and statistically significant risks for multiple myeloma in the highest tertiles of both lifetime exposure-days (RR = 5.72; 95% CI, 2.76-11.87) and intensity-weighted lifetime exposure-days (RR = 5.01; 95% CI, 2.41-10.42), compared with applicators reporting they never used permethrin; these results are based on only 15 exposed cases. These findings were similar across a variety of alternative exposure metrics, exposure categories, and reference groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study found no association with most cancers analyzed. Although the suggested association with multiple myeloma was based on a small number of cases, it warrants further evaluation

Cognitive function during early abstinence from opioid dependence: a comparison to age, gender, and verbal intelligence matched controls

BACKGROUND: Individuals with opioid dependence have cognitive deficits during abuse period in attention, working memory, episodic memory, and executive function. After protracted abstinence consistent cognitive deficit has been found only in executive function. However, few studies have explored cognitive function during first weeks of abstinence. The purpose of this study was to study cognitive function of individuals with opioid dependence during early abstinence. It was hypothesized that cognitive deficits are pronounced immediately after peak withdrawal symptoms have passed and then partially recover. METHODS: Fifteen patients with opioid dependence and fifteen controls matched for, age, gender, and verbal intelligence were tested with a cognitive test battery When patients performed worse than controls correlations between cognitive performance and days of withdrawal, duration of opioid abuse, duration of any substance abuse, or opioid withdrawal symptom inventory score (Short Opiate Withdrawal Scale) were analyzed. RESULTS: Early abstinent opioid dependent patients performed statistically significantly worse than controls in tests measuring complex working memory, executive function, and fluid intelligence. Their complex working memory and fluid intelligence performances correlated statistically significantly with days of withdrawal. CONCLUSION: The results indicate a rather general neurocognitive deficit in higher order cognition. It is suggested that cognitive deficit during early abstinence from opioid dependence is related to withdrawal induced neural dysregulation in the prefrontal cortex and is partly transient

A molecular-based identification resource for the arthropods of Finland

To associate specimens identified by molecular characters to other biological knowledge, we need reference sequences annotated by Linnaean taxonomy. In this study, we (1) report the creation of a comprehensive reference library of DNA barcodes for the arthropods of an entire country (Finland), (2) publish this library, and (3) deliver a new identification tool for insects and spiders, as based on this resource. The reference library contains mtDNA COI barcodes for 11,275 (43%) of 26,437 arthropod species known from Finland, including 10,811 (45%) of 23,956 insect species. To quantify the improvement in identification accuracy enabled by the current reference library, we ran 1000 Finnish insect and spider species through the Barcode of Life Data system (BOLD) identification engine. Of these, 91% were correctly assigned to a unique species when compared to the new reference library alone, 85% were correctly identified when compared to BOLD with the new material included, and 75% with the new material excluded. To capitalize on this resource, we used the new reference material to train a probabilistic taxonomic assignment tool, FinPROTAX, scoring high success. For the full-length barcode region, the accuracy of taxonomic assignments at the level of classes, orders, families, subfamilies, tribes, genera, and species reached 99.9%, 99.9%, 99.8%, 99.7%, 99.4%, 96.8%, and 88.5%, respectively. The FinBOL arthropod reference library and FinPROTAX are available through the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility (www.laji.fi) at https://laji.fi/en/theme/protax. Overall, the FinBOL investment represents a massive capacity-transfer from the taxonomic community of Finland to all sectors of society.</p

Terahertz generation by periodic arrays of GaAs/AlGaAs core/shell nanowires

This paper presents the experimental studies of the generation of terahertz radiation in periodic arrays of GaAs/AlGaAs core/shell nanowires via excitation by ultrashort optical pulses. It is demonstrated that terahertz emission occurs via excitation of photocurrent in the nanowires. The dynamics of photoinduced charge carriers is studied via the influence of an electron-hole plasma on terahertz radiation.Peer reviewe

Nordus praedator (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), a new species from México, with comments on Nordus championi sharp

In this study high molecular weight pure rye arabinoxylan and spruce arabinoglucuronoxylan were acetylated in ionic liquid (IL) systems. Two different ILs were used in our study. In both IL, using optimized procedures, it was possible to achieve acetylation within 5 min. The first system involved direct dissolution into 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dimethylphosphate ([emim][Me2PO4]), followed by addition of acetyl chloride/pyridine (AcCl/Pyr) and additional chloroform (CHCl3), as co-solvent. The other system involved direct dissolution into the novel protic IL 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-enium acetate ([DBNH][OAc]), followed by acetic anhydride/1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-ene (Ac2O/DBN) and no co-solvent added. The full acetyl substitution of the xylans was confirmed by FT IR and 1H NMR. The acetylated xylans maintained a high molecular weight, which was confirmed by gel permeation chromatography. The products were soluble in CHCl3 and dimethyl carbonate, which is considered as a 'green' reagent or solvent. This allowed for the casting of the materials into clear transparent films, opening opportunity for further processing and evaluation of these materials. " 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.",,,,,,"10.1007/s10570-013-0028-y",,,"http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12104/41462","http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84888002392&partnerID=40&md5=a23ff630a19d74bc8efd337e1d169f2b",,,,,,"6",,"Cellulose",,"281