Techniques for Production of Large Area Graphene for Electronic and Sensor Device Applications

AbstractHere we review commonly used techniques for the production of large area and high quality graphene to meet the requirements of industrial applications, including epitaxial growth on SiC, chemical vapour deposition (CVD) on transition metals and growth from solid carbon source. The review makes a comparison of the growth mechanisms, quality (such as mobility and homogeneity) and properties of the resultant graphene, limitations and the prospect of each production method. A particular focus of the review is on direct (transfer free) growth on dielectric substrate as this is potentially one of the promising techniques for graphene production which can readily be integrated into existing semiconductor fabrication processes.</jats:p

The Formazanate Ligand as an Electron Reservoir: Bis(Formazanate) Zinc Complexes Isolated in Three Redox States

The synthesis of bis(formazanate) zinc complexes is described. These complexes have well-behaved redox-chemistry, with the ligands functioning as a reversible electron reservoir. This allows the synthesis of bis(formazanate) zinc compounds in three redox states in which the formazanate ligands are reduced to "metallaverdazyl" radicals. The stability of these ligand-based radicals is a result of the delocalization of the unpaired electron over four nitrogen atoms in the ligand backbone. The neutral, anionic, and dianionic compounds (L2Zn0/-1/-2) were fully characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, spectroscopic methods, and DFT calculations. In these complexes, the structural features of the formazanate ligands are very similar to well-known β-diketiminates, but the nitrogen-rich (NNCNN) backbone of formazanates opens the door to redox-chemistry that is otherwise not easily accessible. N is better than C: Bis(formazanate) zinc complexes (see picture; Zn yellow, N blue, O red, Na green) show sequential and reversible redox chemistry in which the formazanate ligands are reduced to metallaverdazyl radicals. These ligands are very similar to β- diketiminates, but the nitrogen-rich NNCNN backbone of formazanates opens the door to redox chemistry that is otherwise difficult to access

The Effectiveness of Reciprocal Scaffolding Treatment in Anomic Aphasia

Reciprocal Scaffolding Treatment (RST) uses an apprenticeship model of learning that occurs between novices and a skilled partner. This project examined the effect of RST on improvement of word retrieval and conversational content for an individual with anomic aphasia. Novices were graduate student clinicians and the skilled partner was an individual with aphasia, who demonstrated facilitative communication techniques during conversational group treatment conducted by the novices. The individual with aphasia made positive changes in word fluency, correct information units and type-token ratio. Novice clinicians acquired training in facilitating conversational skills from a knowledgeable individual with aphasia

Fetal Sex and RHD Genotyping with Digital PCR Demonstrates Greater Sensitivity than Real-time PCR.

BACKGROUND: Noninvasive genotyping of fetal RHD (Rh blood group, D antigen) can prevent the unnecessary administration of prophylactic anti-D to women carrying RHD-negative fetuses. We evaluated laboratory methods for such genotyping. METHODS: Blood samples were collected in EDTA tubes and Streck® Cell-Free DNA™ blood collection tubes (Streck BCTs) from RHD-negative women (n = 46). Using Y-specific and RHD-specific targets, we investigated variation in the cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) fraction and determined the sensitivity achieved for optimal and suboptimal samples with a novel Droplet Digital™ PCR (ddPCR) platform compared with real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). RESULTS: The cffDNA fraction was significantly larger for samples collected in Streck BCTs compared with samples collected in EDTA tubes (P < 0.001). In samples expressing optimal cffDNA fractions (≥4%), both qPCR and digital PCR (dPCR) showed 100% sensitivity for the TSPY1 (testis-specific protein, Y-linked 1) and RHD7 (RHD exon 7) assays. Although dPCR also had 100% sensitivity for RHD5 (RHD exon 5), qPCR had reduced sensitivity (83%) for this target. For samples expressing suboptimal cffDNA fractions (<2%), dPCR achieved 100% sensitivity for all assays, whereas qPCR achieved 100% sensitivity only for the TSPY1 (multicopy target) assay. CONCLUSIONS: qPCR was not found to be an effective tool for RHD genotyping in suboptimal samples (<2% cffDNA). However, when testing the same suboptimal samples on the same day by dPCR, 100% sensitivity was achieved for both fetal sex determination and RHD genotyping. Use of dPCR for identification of fetal specific markers can reduce the occurrence of false-negative and inconclusive results, particularly when samples express high levels of background maternal cell-free DNA

Repair and reinforcement of timber columns and shear walls – A review

This paper provides an overview of state-of-the-art repairing and reinforcing techniques on timber columns and shear walls in both research and practice. Both research projects in the laboratory scale and real repair/reinforcement projects are examined. It covers two levels of intervention; repair and reinforcement of timber elements. The former focuses on damaged elements and the latter focuses on enhancing the mechanical properties of the elements. Firstly the need to reinforce and repair timber columns and shear walls is discussed, followed by an extensive review of current techniques for repair and reinforcement. Advantages and disadvantages of different existing techniques are analysed so as to inform future practice and research. Finally, several important issues, such as reversibility and long term behaviour, are also discussed

Graphene electrode modified with electrochemically reduced graphene oxide for label-free DNA detection.

A novel printed graphene electrode modified with electrochemically reduced graphene oxide was developed for the detection of a specific oligonucleotide sequence. The graphene oxide was immobilized onto the surface of a graphene electrode via π-π bonds and electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide was achieved by cyclic voltammetry. A much higher redox current was observed from the reduced graphene oxide-graphene double-layer electrode, a 42% and 36.7% increase, respectively, in comparison with that of a bare printed graphene or reduced graphene oxide electrode. The good electron transfer activity is attributed to a combination of the large number of electroactive sites in reduced graphene oxide and the high conductivity nature of graphene. The probe ssDNA was further immobilized onto the surface of the reduced graphene oxide-graphene double-layer electrode via π-π bonds and then hybridized with its target cDNA. The change of peak current due to the hybridized dsDNA could be used for quantitative sensing of DNA concentration. It has been demonstrated that a linear range from 10(-7)M to 10(-12)M is achievable for the detection of human immunodeficiency virus 1 gene with a detection limit of 1.58 × 10(-13)M as determined by three times standard deviation of zero DNA concentration

Prochlo: Strong Privacy for Analytics in the Crowd

The large-scale monitoring of computer users' software activities has become commonplace, e.g., for application telemetry, error reporting, or demographic profiling. This paper describes a principled systems architecture---Encode, Shuffle, Analyze (ESA)---for performing such monitoring with high utility while also protecting user privacy. The ESA design, and its Prochlo implementation, are informed by our practical experiences with an existing, large deployment of privacy-preserving software monitoring. (cont.; see the paper