Fast electrochemical doping due to front instability in organic semiconductors

The electrochemical doping transformation in organic semiconductor devices is studied in application to light-emitting cells. It is shown that the device performance can be significantly improved by utilizing new fundamental properties of the doping process. We obtain an instability, which distorts the doping fronts and increases the doping rate considerably. We explain the physical mechanism of the instability, develop theory, provide experimental evidence, and perform numerical simulations. We further show how improved device design can amplify the instability thus leading to a much faster doping process and device kinetics.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Augmented Reality for People with Visual Impairments: Designing and Creating Audio-Tactile Content from Existing Objects

ISBN: 978-3-319-94273-5International audienceTactile maps and diagrams are widely used as accessible graphical media for people with visual impairments, in particular in the context of education. They can be made interactive by augmenting them with audio feedback. It is however complicated to create audio-tactile graphics that have rich and realistic tactile textures. To overcome these limitations, we propose a new augmented reality approach allowing novices to easily and quickly augment real objects with audio feedback. In our user study, six teachers created their own audio-augmentation of objects, such as a botanical atlas, within 30 minutes or less. Teachers found the tool easy to use and were confident about re-using it. The resulting augmented objects allow two modes: exploration mode provides feedback on demand about an element, while quiz mode provides questions and answers. We evaluated the resulting audio-tactile material with five visually impaired children. Participants found the resulting interactive graphics exciting to use independently of their mental imagery skills

Laterotactile Rendering of Vector Graphics with the Stroke Pattern

Abstract. Raised line patterns are used extensively in the design of tactile graphics for persons with visual impairments. A tactile stroke pattern was therefore developed to enable the rendering of vector graphics by lateral skin deformation. The stroke pattern defines a transversal profile and a longitudinal texture which provide tactile feedback while respectively crossing over the stroke and tracing its length. The stroke pattern is demonstrated with the rendering of lines, circles and polygons, and is extensible to other vector graphics primitives such as curves. The parametric nature of the stroke allows the representation of distinctive line types and the online adjustment of line thickness and other parameters according to user preferences and capabilities. The stroke pattern was informally evaluated with four visually impaired volunteers. Key words: assistive technology, visual impairment, tactile graphics, tactile display, haptic rendering, laterotactile renderin

Survival and residence times in disordered chains with bias

We present a unified framework for first-passage time and residence time of random walks in finite one-dimensional disordered biased systems. The derivation is based on exact expansion of the backward master equation in cumulants. The dependence on initial condition, system size, and bias strength is explicitly studied for models with weak and strong disorder. Application to thermally activated processes is also developed.Comment: 13 pages with 2 figures, RevTeX4; v2:minor grammatical changes, typos correcte

Host Feeding Patterns of Culex Mosquitoes and West Nile Virus Transmission, Northeastern United States

Culex salinarius is a bridge vector to humans, while Cx. pipiens and Cx. restuans are more efficient enzootic vectors

Indoor Radon Concentration and Risk Estimation: the EURA PROJECT

The indoor radon concentration level has been monitored in selected locations in four European countries (Iceland, Italy, Norway, and Sweden) during a yearlong measurement campaign using time-integrated passive radon dosimeters containing CR-39 track detectors. The measurements were carried out in private houses and public buildings like schools, for an exposure time of up to 6 months for each detector. Experimental data shows a great variation between different geographic areas, and often the average levels are over the acceptable radon limit of 300 Bq/m3recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). To investigate a relationship between indoor radon exposure and lung cancer, estimating the cumulative levels of exposure to indoor radon for an individual or population is necessary. We analyse the data sets and investigate the factors influencing indoor radon concentrations in order to determine the best use of the experimental information. The results show that the variables associated with indoor radon levels are strictly linked to the soil geology. Analyzing the data sets enables improved assessment of radon exposure in a given area. The average absorption effective dose equivalent for a person is computed, and the risk of lung cancer per year is evaluated. Doi: 10.28991/HEF-2021-02-04-01 Full Text: PD

Experimental determination of translational starts using peptide mass mapping and tandem mass spectrometry within the proteome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Identification of protein translation start sites is largely a bioinformatics exercise, with relatively few confirmed by N-terminal sequencing. Translation start site determination is critical for defining both the protein sequence and the upstream DNA which may contain regulatory motifs. It is demonstrated here that translation start sites can be determined during routine protein identification, using MALDI-MS and MS/MS data to select the correct N-terminal sequence from a list of alternatives generated in silico. Applying the method to 13 proteins from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, 11 predicted translational start sites were confirmed, and two reassigned. The authors suggest that these data (be they confirmation or reassignments) are important for the annotation of both this genome and those of organisms with related genes. It was also shown that N-acetylation, reported to be rare in prokaryotes, was present in three of the 13 proteins (23 %), suggesting that in the mycobacteria this modification may be common, and an important regulator of protein function, although more proteins need to be analysed. This method can be performed with little or no additional experimental work during proteomics investigations

Body mass index and circulating oestrone sulphate in women treated with adjuvant letrozole

Background: Obesity is an independent adverse prognostic factor in early breast cancer patients, but it is still controversial whether obesity may affect adjuvant endocrine therapy efficacy. The aim of our study (ancillary to the two clinical trials Gruppo Italiano Mammella (GIM)4 and GIM5) was to investigate whether the circulating oestrogen levels during treatment with the aromatase inhibitor letrozole are related to body mass index (BMI) in postmenopausal women with breast cancer. Methods: Plasma concentration of oestrone sulphate (ES) was evaluated by radioimmunoassay in 370 patients. Plasma samples were obtained after at least 6 weeks of letrozole therapy (steady-state time). Patients were divided into four groups according to BMI. Differences among the geometric means (by ANOVA and ANCOVA) and correlation (by Spearman's rho) between the ES levels and BMI were assessed. Results: Picomolar geometric mean values (95% confidence interval, n=patients) of circulating ES during letrozole were 58.6 (51.0-67.2, n=150) when BMI was <25.0 kg m-2; 65.6 (57.8-74.6, n=154) when 25.0-29.9 kg m-2; 59.3 (47.1-74.6, n=50) when 30.0-34.9 kg m -2; and 43.3 (23.0-81.7, n=16) when 6535.0 kg m-2. No statistically significant difference in terms of ES levels among groups and no correlation with BMI were observed. Conclusions: Body mass index does not seem to affect circulating oestrogen levels in letrozole-treated patient