The Influence of Polymer Purification on Photovoltaic Device Performance of a Series of Indacenodithiophene Donor Polymers

A series of low bandgap indacenodithiophene polymers is purified by recycling SEC in order to isolate narrow polydispersity fractions. This additional purification step is found to have a significant beneficial influence on the solar cell performance and the reasons for this performance increase are investigated

On the Perception of Religious Group Membership from Faces

BACKGROUND: The study of social categorization has largely been confined to examining groups distinguished by perceptually obvious cues. Yet many ecologically important group distinctions are less clear, permitting insights into the general processes involved in person perception. Although religious group membership is thought to be perceptually ambiguous, folk beliefs suggest that Mormons and non-Mormons can be categorized from their appearance. We tested whether Mormons could be distinguished from non-Mormons and investigated the basis for this effect to gain insight to how subtle perceptual cues can support complex social categorizations. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Participants categorized Mormons' and non-Mormons' faces or facial features according to their group membership. Individuals could distinguish between the two groups significantly better than chance guessing from their full faces and faces without hair, with eyes and mouth covered, without outer face shape, and inverted 180°; but not from isolated features (i.e., eyes, nose, or mouth). Perceivers' estimations of their accuracy did not match their actual accuracy. Exploration of the remaining features showed that Mormons and non-Mormons significantly differed in perceived health and that these perceptions were related to perceptions of skin quality, as demonstrated in a structural equation model representing the contributions of skin color and skin texture. Other judgments related to health (facial attractiveness, facial symmetry, and structural aspects related to body weight) did not differ between the two groups. Perceptions of health were also responsible for differences in perceived spirituality, explaining folk hypotheses that Mormons are distinct because they appear more spiritual than non-Mormons. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Subtle markers of group membership can influence how others are perceived and categorized. Perceptions of health from non-obvious and minimal cues distinguished individuals according to their religious group membership. These data illustrate how the non-conscious detection of very subtle differences in others' appearances supports cognitively complex judgments such as social categorization

Relationships between students' conceptions of constructivist learning and their regulation and processing strategies

The present study investigated relationships between students' conceptions of constructivist learning on the one hand, and their regulation and processing strategies on the other hand. Students in a constructivist, problem-based learning curriculum were questioned about their conceptions of knowledge construction and self-regulated learning, as well as their beliefs regarding their own (in)ability to learn and motivation to learn. Two hypothesized models were tested within 98 psychology students, using a structural equation modelling approach: The first model implemented regulation and processing variables of the Inventory of Learning Styles [ILS, Vermunt (Learning styles and regulation of learning in higher education - towards process-oriented instruction in autonomous thinking, 1992)], the second model of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire [MSLQ, Pintrich and de Groot (Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 33-40, 1990)]. Results showed that structural relations exist between conceptions of constructivist learning and regulation and processing strategies. Furthermore, students who express doubt with regard to their own learning capacities are at risk for adopting an inadequate regulation strategy. A three-tiered structure of conceptual, controlling, and operational level appeared valid for the MSLQ variables, but not entirely for those of the ILS

Effects of Irritant Chemicals on Aedes aegypti Resting Behavior: Is There a Simple Shift to Untreated “Safe Sites”?

Aedes aegypti, the primary vector mosquito of dengue virus, typically lives near or inside human dwellings, and feeds preferentially on humans. The control of this mosquito vector remains the most important dengue prevention method. The use of chemicals at levels toxic to mosquitoes is currently the only confirmed effective adult vector control strategy with interventions usually applied following epidemic onset. However, research indicates that sub-lethal chemical approaches to prevent human-vector contact at the house level exist: contact irritancy and spatial repellency. The optimum efficacy of an intervention based on contact irritant actions of chemicals will, however, require full knowledge of variables that will influence vector resting behavior and thereby chemical uptake from treated sources. Here we characterize the resting patterns of female Ae. aegypti on two material types at various dark:light surface area coverage ratios and contrast configurations under chemical-free and treated conditions using a laboratory behavioral assay. Change in resting behavior between baseline and treatment conditions was quantified to determine potential negative effects of untreated surfaces (“safe sites”) when irritant responses are elicited. We show that treatment of preferred resting sites with known irritant compounds do not stimulate mosquitoes to move to safe sites after making contact with treated surfaces

Comparative proteomic profiling reveals mechanisms for early spinal cord vulnerability in CLN1 disease

CLN1 disease is a fatal inherited neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disease of early childhood, caused by mutations in the CLN1 gene, which encodes the enzyme Palmitoyl protein thioesterase-1 (PPT-1). We recently found significant spinal pathology in Ppt1-deficient (Ppt1−/−) mice and human CLN1 disease that contributes to clinical outcome and precedes the onset of brain pathology. Here, we quantified this spinal pathology at 3 and 7 months of age revealing significant and progressive glial activation and vulnerability of spinal interneurons. Tandem mass tagged proteomic analysis of the spinal cord of Ppt1−/−and control mice at these timepoints revealed a significant neuroimmune response and changes in mitochondrial function, cell-signalling pathways and developmental processes. Comparing proteomic changes in the spinal cord and cortex at 3 months revealed many similarly affected processes, except the inflammatory response. These proteomic and pathological data from this largely unexplored region of the CNS may help explain the limited success of previous brain-directed therapies. These data also fundamentally change our understanding of the progressive, site-specific nature of CLN1 disease pathogenesis, and highlight the importance of the neuroimmune response. This should greatly impact our approach to the timing and targeting of future therapeutic trials for this and similar disorders

Cell-Autonomous Alterations in Dendritic Arbor Morphology and Connectivity Induced by Overexpression of MeCP2 in Xenopus Central Neurons In Vivo

Methyl CpG binding protein-2 (MeCP2) is an essential epigenetic regulator in human brain development. Mutations in the MeCP2 gene have been linked to Rett syndrome, a severe X-linked progressive neurodevelopmental disorder, and one of the most common causes of mental retardation in females. MeCP2 duplication and triplication have also been found to affect brain development, indicating that both loss of function and gain in MeCP2 dosage lead to similar neurological phenotypes. Here, we used the Xenopus laevis visual system as an in vivo model to examine the consequence of increased MeCP2 expression during the morphological maturation of individual central neurons in an otherwise intact brain. Single-cell overexpression of wild-type human MeCP2 was combined with time-lapse confocal microscopy imaging to study dynamic mechanisms by which MeCP2 influences tectal neuron dendritic arborization. Analysis of neurons co-expressing DsRed2 demonstrates that MeCP2 overexpression specifically interfered with dendritic elaboration, decreasing the rates of branch addition and elimination over a 48 hour observation period. Moreover, dynamic analysis of neurons co-expressing wt-hMeCP2 and PSD95-GFP revealed that even though neurons expressing wt-hMeCP2 possessed significantly fewer dendrites and simpler morphologies than control neurons at the same developmental stage, postsynaptic site density in wt-hMeCP2-expressing neurons was similar to controls and increased at a rate higher than controls. Together, our in vivo studies support an early, cell-autonomous role for MeCP2 during the morphological differentiation of neurons and indicate that perturbations in MeCP2 gene dosage result in deficits in dendritic arborization that can be compensated, at least in part, by synaptic connectivity changes

Evaluation of the impact of interdisciplinarity in cancer care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Teamwork is a key component of the health care renewal strategy emphasized in Quebec, elsewhere in Canada and in other countries to enhance the quality of oncology services. While this innovation would appear beneficial in theory, empirical evidences of its impact are limited. Current efforts in Quebec to encourage the development of local interdisciplinary teams in all hospitals offer a unique opportunity to assess the anticipated benefits. These teams working in hospital outpatient clinics are responsible for treatment, follow-up and patient support. The study objective is to assess the impact of interdisciplinarity on cancer patients and health professionals.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>This is a quasi-experimental study with three comparison groups distinguished by intensity of interdisciplinarity: strong, moderate and weak. The study will use a random sample of 12 local teams in Quebec, stratified by intensity of interdisciplinarity. The instrument to measure the intensity of the interdisciplinarity, developed in collaboration with experts, encompasses five dimensions referring to aspects of team structure and process. Self-administered questionnaires will be used to measure the impact of interdisciplinarity on patients (health care utilization, continuity of care and cancer services responsiveness) and on professionals (professional well-being, assessment of teamwork and perception of teamwork climate). Approximately 100 health professionals working on the selected teams and 2000 patients will be recruited. Statistical analyses will include descriptive statistics and comparative analysis of the impact observed according to the strata of interdisciplinarity. Fixed and random multivariate statistical models (multilevel analyses) will also be used.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This study will pinpoint to what extent interdisciplinarity is linked to quality of care and meets the complex and varied needs of cancer patients. It will ascertain to what extent interdisciplinary teamwork facilitated the work of professionals. Such findings are important given the growing prevalence of cancer and the importance of attracting and retaining health professionals to work with cancer patients.</p

Ultra-brief intervention for problem drinkers: research protocol

Background: Helping the large number of problem drinkers who will never seek treatment is a challenging issue. Public health initiatives employing educational materials or mass media campaigns have met with mixed success. However, clinical research has developed effective brief interventions to help problem drinkers. This project will employ an intervention that has been validated in clinical settings and then modified into an ultra-brief format suitable for use as a public health intervention. The major objective of this study is to conduct a randomized controlled trial to establish the effectiveness of an ultra-brief, personalized feedback intervention for problem drinkers. Methods/design: Problem drinkers recruited on a baseline population telephone survey conducted in a major metropolitan city in Canada will be randomized to one of three conditions - a personalized feedback pamphlet condition, a control pamphlet condition, or a no intervention control condition. In the week after the baseline survey, households in the two pamphlet conditions will be sent their respective pamphlets. Changes in drinking will be assessed post intervention at three-month and six-month follow-ups. Drinking outcomes will be compared between experimental conditions using Structural Equation Modeling. The primary hypothesis is that problem drinkers from households who receive the personalized feedback pamphlet intervention will display significantly improved drinking outcomes at three and six-month follow-ups as compared to problem drinkers from households in the no intervention control condition. Secondary hypotheses will test the impact of the intervention on help seeking, and explore the mediating or moderating role of perceived drinking norms, perceived alcohol risks and the problem drinker's social reasons for drinking. Discussion: This trial will provide information on the effectiveness of a pamphlet-based personalized feedback intervention for problem drinkers in a community setting. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov registration #NCT00688584.This study is funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Grant #R01 AA015680-01A2