Tetracene thin film transistors with rare earth oxide (Nd2O3) as gate dielectric is reported in this work. Rare earth oxide with high dielectric constant and low leakage current improve the performance of the organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). The fabricated tetracene OTFTs have shown good output characteristics with mobility 0.93x10 cm/V.s, ON-OFF ratio 3.3x10, sub-threshold swing 0.06 V/d...

Liquid laboratory waste containing osmic acid and cacodylic acid was mixed with potter's clay or hydraulic cement. The clay-waste product was kneaded into blocks and baked in a klin (1,200-1,400 degrees C). The cement-waste product was allowed to harden into concrete blocks. Some of the baked clay blocks and concrete blocks were ground, and immersed in 1 N NaOH or 10% HCI solutions for 3-6 mont...

In a 2.5-year-long environmental engineering experiment in the By Fjord, surface water was pumped into the deepwater where the frequency of deepwater renewals increased by a factor of 10. During the experiment, the deepwater became long-term oxic, and nitrate became the dominating dissolved inorganic nitrogen component. The amount of phosphate in the water column decreased by a factor of 5 due ...

In order to avoid leakage currents, we are using an atomically flat insulating substrate. This poses additional challenges, as (1) there are few tools which enable measurements on insulating surfaces, and consequently, (2) there is little known about the growth of metals and molecules on insulators. We are using ultrahigh vacuum noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) to examine some of the...

The rare earth metals cerium, lanthanum, and neodymium each were evaluated in an in vitro cytotoxicity assay system using adult, male Sprague-Dawley rat pulmonary alveolar macrophages. Both the soluble chloride form of these metals and their insoluble metal oxides were studied. For comparison purposes, the cytotoxicities of cadmium chloride and cadmium oxide were also quantified in this test sy...

The lower slope of the Mid-Levels area, Hong Kong, is one the most heavily urbanized coastal areas in the world. A comprehensive groundwater heavy metal and trace element study was conducted in the Mid-Levels area aiming to investigate the impacts of urbanization on the aqueous distributions of these chemicals. Groundwater samples were collected in the upper natural slopes and the lower highly ...

Electrolyte leakage accompanies plant response to stresses, such as salinity, pathogen attack, drought, heavy metals, hyperthermia, and hypothermia; however, the mechanism and physiological role of this phenomenon have only recently been clarified. Accumulating evidence shows that electrolyte leakage is mainly related to K(+) efflux from plant cells, which is mediated by plasma membrane cation ...

Metal contamination of the environment is frequently associated to the presence of two or more metals. This work aimed to study the impact of a mixture of metals (Cd, Pb and Zn) on the physiology of the non-conventional yeast Pichia kudriavzevii. The incubation of yeast cells with 5 mg/l Cd, 10 mg/l Pb and 5 mg/l Zn, for 6 h, induced a loss of metabolic activity (assessed by FUN-1 staining) and...

We focused on the impact of industrial wastes on the water quality of the El-Amia drain in Egypt and the effect of irrigation with industrial wastewater on the growth, cell membranes, photosynthetic pigment content, the antioxidant system and selected osmoprotectants (proline, total amino nitrogen and soluble sugars) in three crop plants: turnip, tomato and lettuce. Furthermore, the present wor...