Electrical characterisation of highly doped triangular silicon nanowires

A top-down silicon nanowire fabrication using a combination of optical lithography and orientation dependent etching (ODE) has been developed using Silicon-on Insulator (SOI) as the starting substrate. Initially, the samples were doped with phosphorus using the diffusion process resulting in carrier concentration of 2 X 10 18 cm-3. After the silicon nanowires were fabricated, they were measured using a dual configuration method which is similar to the four-point probe measurement technique to deduce its resistivity. The data obtained had suggested that the doping distribution in the silicon nanowires were lower and this may have been affected by the surface depletion effect. In addition, with respect to carrier mobility, the effective mobility of electrons extracted using the four-point probe data had demonstrated that the mobility of carriers in the silicon nanowire is comparable with the bulk mobility. This is most probably due to the fact that in this research, the quantum confinement effect on these nanowires is not significant

A simplified design method for estimating the fire performance of structural timber floors

The widespread use of structural timber in tall buildings is often inhibited because timber is a combustible material and is commonly perceived to behave poorly in fires. This research develops a simplified design approach for the fire performance of different types of prefabricated timber floors used in multi-storey buildings. The floor types under investigation include several different geometries of box-shaped and T-shaped timber floors made from Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL). The investigations were carried out with numerical simulations and four experimental fire tests. A simplified design method to estimate the fire resistance of unprotected timber floor assemblies is proposed and calibrated against the numerical and experimental work. The method uses a bi-linear charring rate and the assumption of a zero strength layer in the timber. The method is compared to the experimental data from this research and others around the world, as well as charring rate methodologies from around the world

Specialist palliative care nursing and the philosophy of palliative care: a critical discussion

Nursing is the largest regulated health professional workforce providing palliative care across a range of clinical settings. Historically, palliative care nursing has been informed by a strong philosophy of care which is soundly articulated in palliative care policy, research and practice. Indeed, palliative care is now considered to be an integral component of nursing practice regardless of the specialty or clinical setting. However, there has been a change in the way palliative care is provided. Upstreaming and mainstreaming of palliative care and the dominance of a biomedical model with increasing medicalisation and specialisation are key factors in the evolution of contemporary palliative care and are likely to impact on nursing practice. Using a critical reflection of the authors own experiences and supported by literature and theory from seminal texts and contemporary academic, policy and clinical literature, this discussion paper will explore the influence of philosophy on nursing knowledge and theory in the context of an evolving model of palliative care

Tropomyosin Regulates Cell Migration during Skin Wound Healing

Precise orchestration of actin polymer into filaments with distinct characteristics of stability, bundling, and branching underpins cell migration. A key regulator of actin filament specialization is the tropomyosin family of actin-associating proteins. This multi-isoform family of proteins assemble into polymers that lie in the major groove of polymerized actin filaments, which in turn determine the association of molecules that control actin filament organization. This suggests that tropomyosins may be important regulators of actin function during physiological processes dependent on cell migration, such as wound healing. We have therefore analyzed the requirement for tropomyosin isoform expression in a mouse model of cutaneous wound healing. We find that mice in which the 9D exon from the TPM3/γTm tropomyosin gene is deleted (γ9D -/-) exhibit a more rapid wound-healing response 7 days after wounding compared with wild-type mice. Accelerated wound healing was not associated with increased cell proliferation, matrix remodeling, or epidermal abnormalities, but with increased cell migration. Rac GTPase activity and paxillin phosphorylation are elevated in cells from γ9D -/- mice, suggesting the activation of paxillin/Rac signaling. Collectively, our data reveal that tropomyosin isoform expression has an important role in temporal regulation of cell migration during wound healing.(NHMRC) grant 51225

Soft Contributions to Hard Pion Photoproduction

Hard, or high transverse momentum, pion photoproduction can be a tool for probing the parton structure of the beam and target. We estimate the soft contributions to this process, with an eye toward delineating the region where perturbatively calculable processes dominate. Our soft process estimate is based on vector meson dominance and data based parameterizations of semiexclusive hadronic cross sections. We find that soft processes dominate in single pion photoproduction somewhat past 2 GeV transverse momentum at a few times 10 GeV incoming energy. The recent polarization asymmetry data is consistent with the perturbative asymmetry being diluted by polarization insensitive soft processes. Determining the polarized gluon distribution using hard pion photoproduction appears feasible with a few hundred GeV incoming energy (in the target rest frame).Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Inclusive Electron Scattering from Nuclei at x≃1x \simeq 1

The inclusive A(e,e') cross section for $x \simeq 1$ was measured on $^2$H, C, Fe, and Au for momentum transfers $Q^2$ from 1-7 (GeV/c)$^2$. The scaling behavior of the data was examined in the region of transition from y-scaling to x-scaling. Throughout this transitional region, the data exhibit $\xi$-scaling, reminiscent of the Bloom-Gilman duality seen in free nucleon scattering.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX; 4 figures (postscript in .tar.Z file

Profiling IgG N-glycans as potential biomarker of chronological and biological ages:A community-based study in a Han Chinese population

As an important post-translation modifying process, glycosylation significantly affects the structure and function of immunoglobulin G (IgG) molecules and is essential in many steps of the inflammatory cascade. Studies have demonstrated the potential of using glycosylation features of IgG as a component of predictive biomarkers for chronological age in several European populations, whereas no study has been reported in Chinese. Herein, we report various patterns of changes in IgG glycosylation associated with age by analyzing IgG glycosylation in 701 community-based Han Chinese (244 males, 457 females; 23-68 years old). Eleven IgG glycans, including FA2B, A2G1, FA2[6]G1, FA2[3]G1, FA2[6]BG1, FA2[3]BG1, A2G2, A2BG2, FA2G2, FA2G2S1, and FA2G2S2, change considerably with age and specific combinations of these glycan features can explain 23.3% to 45.4% of the variance in chronological age in this population. This indicates that these combinations of glycan features provide more predictive information than other single markers of biological age such as telomere length. In addition, the clinical traits such as fasting plasma glucose and aspartate aminotransferase associated with biological age are strongly correlated with the combined glycan features. We conclude that IgG glycosylation appears to correlate with both chronological and biological ages, and thus its possible role in the aging process merits further stud

Migrations in our common home: Responding with care - Ireland's response to the Ukrainian crisis

Policy Brief produced by the Roundtable on Migrations in Our Common HomeIreland’s response to the Ukrainian migrants has been almost exemplary and this “human rights first” approach should be the blueprint for a reshaping of Ireland’s International Protection system. Beyond the immediate challenges faced by Ukrainian people forcibly displaced, the wider geopolitical impacts of the crisis – the dependency on Russian fossil fuel production and resultant risks, together with risks to food security – will be felt globally into the future, and disproportionately impact those who can least absorb them. Ireland needs to focus on the care, human rights and wellbeing of all. The legitimate expectations of people living in Ireland are not being met. This is most obvious in areas such as housing and homelessness, a two-tier healthcare system, the deepening rural-urban divide, and high levels of poverty and social exclusion, especially among children. These are all areas that must be grappled with in addition to our response to the Ukrainian crisis. This policy briefing takes a look at the key issues and makes a series of policy recommendations aimed at addressing immediate and future challenges