Optimization of a high work function solution processed vanadium oxide hole-extracting layer for small molecule and polymer organic photovoltaic cells

We report a method of fabricating a high work function, solution processable vanadium oxide (V2Ox(sol)) hole-extracting layer. The atmospheric processing conditions of film preparation have a critical influence on the electronic structure and stoichiometry of the V2Ox(sol), with a direct impact on organic photovoltaic (OPV) cell performance. Combined Kelvin probe (KP) and ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) measurements reveal a high work function, n-type character for the thin films, analogous to previously reported thermally evaporated transition metal oxides. Additional states within the band gap of V2Ox(sol) are observed in the UPS spectra and are demonstrated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to be due to the substoichiometric nature of V2Ox(sol). The optimized V2Ox(sol) layer performance is compared directly to bare indium–tin oxide (ITO), poly(ethyleneoxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), and thermally evaporated molybdenum oxide (MoOx) interfaces in both small molecule/fullerene and polymer/fullerene structures. OPV cells incorporating V2Ox(sol) are reported to achieve favorable initial cell performance and cell stability attributes

To what extent is behaviour a problem in English schools?:Exploring the scale and prevalence of deficits in classroom climate

The working atmosphere in the classroom is an important variable in the process of education in schools, with several studies suggesting that classroom climate is an important influence on pupil attainment. There are wide differences in the extent to which classroom climate is considered to be a problem in English schools. Some ‘official’ reports suggest that behaviour in schools is ‘satisfactory or better’ in the vast majority of schools; other sources have pointed to behaviour being a serious and widespread problem. The paper details four studies conducted over the past decade which aimed to explore these disparities. The aim of the research was to gain a more accurate insight into the extent to which deficits in classroom climate limit educational attainment and equality of educational opportunity in English schools. The findings question the suggestion that behaviour is satisfactory or better in 99.7% of English schools and the concluding section suggests ways in which deficits in classroom climate might be addressed. Although the study is limited to classrooms in England, OECD studies suggest that deficits in the working atmosphere in classrooms occur in many countries. The study therefore has potential relevance for education systems in other countries

Evaluation of quality of life in adults with neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) using the Impact of NF1 on Quality Of Life (INF1-QOL) questionnaire

Background Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) is an inherited, multi-system, tumour suppressor disorder with variable complications that cause psychological distress and social isolation. The study aim was to develop and validate a disease-specific questionnaire to measure quality of life (QOL) in NF1 that is suitable both as an assessment tool in clinical practice and in clinical trials of novel therapy. Methods The Impact of NF1 on Quality of Life (INF1-QOL) questionnaire was developed by a literature search for common terms, focus group (n=6), semi-structured interviews (n=21), initial drafts (n =50) and final 14 item questionnaire (n=50). Bivariate correlations between items, exploratory factor analysis, correlations with severity and EuroQol were employed. Results INF1-QOL showed good internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha 0.87), mean total INF1-QOL score was 8.64 (SD 6.3), median 7.00, range 0-30 (possible range 0-42); no significant correlations with age or gender. The mean total EuroQol score was 7.38 (SD 2.87), median 6.5, mean global EuroQol score was 76.34 (SD 16.56), median 80. Total INF1-QOL score correlated with total EuroQol r=0.82, p<0.0001. The highest impact on QOL was moderate or severe problems with anxiety and depression (32%) and negative effects of NF1 on role and outlook on life (42%). The mean inter-relater reliability for grading of clinical severity scores was 0.71 (range 0.65-0.79), and intra-class correlation was 0.92. The mean clinical severity score was 1.95 (SD 0.65) correlating r=0.34 with total INF1-QOL score p<0.05 and correlated 0.37 with total EuroQol score p<0.01. The clinical severity score was mild in 17 (34%), moderate in 16 (32%) and 17 (34%) individuals had severe disease. Conclusions INF1-QOL is a validated, reliable disease specific questionnaire that is easy and quick to complete. Role and outlook on life and anxiety and depression have the highest impact on QOL indicating the variability, severity and unpredictability of NF1. INFI-QOL correlates moderately with clinical severity. The moderate relationship between INF1-QOL and physician rated severity emphasizes the difference between clinical and patient perception. INFI-QOL will be useful in individual patient assessment and as an outcome measure for clinical trials

Reproductive factors and specific histological types of breast cancer: prospective study and meta-analysis

Little is known about how reproductive factors affect the risk of breast cancers of different histology. In an analysis of prospective data on 1.2 million middle-aged UK women, we used proportional hazards models to estimate the relative risks of six histological types in relation to menarche, childbearing and menopause. During 8.7 million person-years of follow-up, 17 923 ductal, 3332 lobular, 1062 tubular, 944 mixed ductal lobular, 330 mucinous and 117 medullary cancers were diagnosed. The effect of both age at menarche and age at first birth was greatest for lobular tumours; relative risks per 5-year increase in age at menarche for ductal, lobular, and tubular cancers were 0.93 (0.87–0.99), 0.65 (0.56–0.76), and 0.75 (0.57–0.98), respectively (P-value for heterogeneity=0.0001); and the relative risks per 5-year increase in age at first birth were 1.10 (1.07–1.12), 1.23 (1.17–1.29), and 1.13 (1.03–1.23), respectively (P-value for heterogeneity=0.0006). Increasing parity reduced the risk of each tumour type, except medullary cancers, but the reduction in risk was greater for mucinous cancers than for any other subtype considered (P<0.05 for comparison with each other subtype in turn). The effect of menopause did not vary significantly by tumour histology. Meta-analysis of published results on the effects of age at menarche and age at first birth on ductal and lobular cancers were in keeping with our findings

Short-term low-severity spring grassland fire impacts on soil extractable elements and soil ratios in Lithuania.

Spring grassland fires are common in boreal areas as a consequence of slash and burn agriculture used to remove dry grass to increase soil nutrient properties and crop production. However, fewworks have investigated fire impacts on these grassland ecosystems, especially in the immediate period after the fire. The objective of this work was to study the short-termimpacts of a spring grassland fire in Lithuania. Four days after the firewe established a 400 m2 sampling grid within the burned area and in an adjacent unburned area with the same topographical, hydrological and pedological characteristics. Wecollected topsoil samples immediately after the fire (0 months), 2, 5, 7 and 9 months after the fire. We analysed soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), major nutrients including calcium(Ca), magnesium(Mg), sodium(Na), and potassium(K), and theminor elements aluminium(Al), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn). We also calculated the soil Na and K adsorption ratio (SPAR), Ca:Mg and Ca:Al. The results showed that this low-severity grassland fire significantly decreased soil pH, Al, and Mn but increased EC, Ca,Mg, and K,. There was no effect on Na, Fe, and Zn. Therewas a decrease of EC, Ca,Mg, and Na from 0months after the fire until 7 months after the fire,with an increase during the last sampling period. Fire did not significantly affect SPAR. Ca:Mg decreased significantly immediately after the fire, but not to critical levels. Ca:Al increased after the fire, reducing the potential effects of Al on plants. Overall, fire impactsweremainly limited to the immediate period after the fire

The Alcohol Dehydrogenase System in the Xylose-Fermenting Yeast Candida maltosa

The alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) system plays a critical role in sugar metabolism involving in not only ethanol formation and consumption but also the general "cofactor balance" mechanism. Candida maltosa is able to ferment glucose as well as xylose to produce a significant amount of ethanol. Here we report the ADH system in C. maltosa composed of three microbial group I ADH genes (CmADH1, CmADH2A and CmADH2B), mainly focusing on its metabolic regulation and physiological function.Genetic analysis indicated that CmADH2A and CmADH2B tandemly located on the chromosome could be derived from tandem gene duplication. In vitro characterization of enzymatic properties revealed that all the three CmADHs had broad substrate specificities. Homo- and heterotetramers of CmADH1 and CmADH2A were demonstrated by zymogram analysis, and their expression profiles and physiological functions were different with respect to carbon sources and growth phases. Fermentation studies of ADH2A-deficient mutant showed that CmADH2A was directly related to NAD regeneration during xylose metabolism since CmADH2A deficiency resulted in a significant accumulation of glycerol.Our results revealed that CmADH1 was responsible for ethanol formation during glucose metabolism, whereas CmADH2A was glucose-repressed and functioned to convert the accumulated ethanol to acetaldehyde. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of function separation and glucose repression of ADH genes in xylose-fermenting yeasts. On the other hand, CmADH1 and CmADH2A were both involved in ethanol formation with NAD regeneration to maintain NADH/NAD ratio in favor of producing xylitol from xylose. In contrast, CmADH2B was expressed at a much lower level than the other two CmADH genes, and its function is to be further confirmed

Smoking particles enhance endothelin A and endothelin B receptor-mediated contractions by enhancing translation in rat bronchi

BACKGROUND: Smoking is known to cause chronic inflammatory changes in the bronchi and to contribute to airway hyper-reactivity, such as in bronchial asthma. To study the effect of smoking on the endothelin system in rat airways, bronchial segments were exposed to DMSO-soluble smoking particles (DSP) from cigarette smoke, to nicotine and to DMSO, respectively. METHODS: Isolated rat bronchial segments were cultured for 24 hours in the presence or absence of DSP, nicotine or DMSO alone. Contractile responses to sarafotoxin 6c (a selective agonist for ET(B )receptors) and endothelin-1 (an ET(A )and ET(B )receptor agonist) were studied by use of a sensitive myograph. Before ET-1 was introduced, the ET(B )receptors were desensitized by use of S6c. The remaining contractility observed was considered to be the result of selective activation of the ET(A )receptors. ET(A )and ET(B )receptor mRNA expression was analyzed using real-time quantitative PCR. The location and concentration of ET(A )and ET(B )receptors were studied by means of immunohistochemistry together with confocal microscopy after overnight incubation with selective antibodies. RESULTS: After being cultured together with DSP for 24 hours the bronchial segments showed an increased contractility mediated by ET(A )and ET(B )receptors, whereas culturing them together with nicotine did not affect their contractility. The up-regulation of their contractility was blunted by cycloheximide treatment, a translational inhibitor. No significant change in the expression of ET(A )and ET(B )receptor mRNA through exposure to DMSO or to nicotine exposure alone occurred, although immunohistochemistry revealed a clear increase in ET(A )and ET(B )receptors in the smooth muscle after incubation in the presence of DSP. Taken as a whole, this is seen as the presence of a translation mechanism. CONCLUSION: The increased contractility of rat bronchi when exposed to DSP appears to be due to a translation mechanism