Automated Mechanical Exfoliation of MoS and MoTe Layers for 2D Materials Applications.

An automated technique is presented for mechanically exfoliating single-layer and few-layer transition metal dichalcogenides using controlled shear and normal forces imposed by a parallel plate rheometer. A thin sample that is removed from bulk MoS or MoTe is initially attached to the movable upper fixture of the rheometer using blue dicing tape while the lower base plate also has the same tape to capture and exfoliate samples when the two plates are brought into contact then separated. A step-and-repeat exfoliation process is initiated using a preprogrammed contact force and liftoff speed.

Knowledge and attitudes to prescription charges in New Zealand and England.

Background: Prescription charge regimes vary between countries but there is little research on how much people know about these or support values underlying them.

Objective: To explore, in New Zealand (NZ) and England, the public's knowledge of, and attitudes to, charges and whether knowledge and attitudes varied by demographic characteristics or by values about entitlement to public goods.

Method: A questionnaire was developed and administered to people over 18 recruited in public places in NZ and England.

In vitro conservation and sustained production of breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis, Moraceae): modern technologies for a traditional tropical crop.

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis, Moraceae) is a traditionally cultivated, high-energy, high-yield crop, but widespread use of the plant for food is limited by poor quality and poor storage properties of the fruit. A unique field genebank of breadfruit species and cultivars exists at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in the Hawaiian Islands and is an important global resource for conservation and sustainable use of breadfruit. However, this plant collection could be damaged by a random natural disaster such as a hurricane.

Assessment of genetic stability of the germplasm lines of medicinal plant Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (Huang-qin) in long-term, in vitro maintained cultures.

An approach of combining flow cytometry (FCM) analysis with morphological and chemical profiling was used to assess the genetic stability and bioactive compound diversity in a Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (Huang-qin) germplasm collection that was clonally maintained in in vitro for a period of over 6 years. Based on the FCM analysis of nuclei samples from young shoots, the nuclear DNA content of S. baicalensis was calculated as 0.

Genetic diversity in seed populations of Echinacea purpurea controls the capacity for regeneration, route of morphogenesis and phytochemical composition.

The production of new varieties and higher quality products from Echinacea spp. requires a greater understanding of the regulation of plant growth and the production of specific phytometabolites. The current studies were designed to generate elite varieties of Echinacea purpurea based on regeneration efficiency and chemical profile.