Large area quantitative analysis of nanostructured thin-films

Proposed and verified method offers an unique quantitative large scale nanostructures' evaluation.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2015/RA/c4ra16018e#!divAbstract

Rizatriptan versus rizatriptan plus rofecoxib versus rizatriptan plus tolfenamic acid in the acute treatment of migraine

BACKGROUND: Rizatriptan is an effective and fast acting drug for the acute treatment of migraine. Some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) have also demonstrated efficacy in treating migraine attacks. There is evidence that the combination of a triptan and a NSAID decreases migraine recurrence in clinical practice. The primary aim of this randomized open label study was to assess the recurrence rates in migraine sufferers acutely treated with rizatriptan (RI) alone vs. rizatriptan plus a COX-2 enzyme inhibitor (rofecoxib, RO) vs. rizatriptan plus a traditional NSAID (tolfenamic acid, TO). We were also interested in comparing the efficacy rates within these three groups. METHODS: We assessed 45 patients from a headache clinic in Rio de Janeiro (35 women and 10 men, ages 18 to 65 years, mean 37 years). Patients with IHS migraine were randomized to one out of 3 groups, where they had to treat 6 consecutive moderate or severe attacks in counterbalanced order. In group 1, patients treated the first two attacks with 10 mg RI, the third and fourth attacks with RI + 50 mg RO and the last attacks with RI + 200 mg of TA. In group 2, we began with RI + TA, followed by RI, and RI + RO. Group 3 treated in the following order: RI + RO, RI + TA, RI alone. The presence of headache, nausea and photophobia at 1, 2 and 4 hours, as well as recurrence and side effects were compared. RESULTS: A total of 33 patients finished the study, treating 184 attacks. The pain-free rates at 1 hour were: RI: 15.5%; RI + RO: 22.6%; RI + TA: 20.3%(NS). Pain-free rates at 2 h were: RI: 37.9%; RI + RO: 62.9%, and RI + TA: 40.6% (p = 0.008 for RI vs. RI + RO; p = 0.007 for RI + RO vs. RI + TA, NS for RI vs RI + TA). At 4 h, pain-free rates were: RI: 69%; RI + RO: 82.3%; RI + TA: 78.1% (NS for all comparisons). The combination of RI + RO was superior to RI and to RI + TA in regard of the absense of nausea and photophobia at 4 hours. Recurrence (after being pain-free at 2 h) was observed in 50% of patients treated with RI, in 15,4% of those treated with RI + RO, and in 7,7% of those treated with RI + TA. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the methodological limitations of this study, the combination of RI and RO revealed a higher response rate at 2 hours. Recurrence was also clearly decreased with both combinations in relation to the use of RI alone. Controlled studies are necessary to provide additional evidence

Characterization of microcrystalline I-layer for solar cells prepared in low temperature - Plastic compatible process

Microcrystalline silicon (mc-Si) films deposited using a Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) process constitute an important material for manufacturing low-cost, large-area thin-film devices, such as solar cells or thin-film transistors. Although the deposition of electronic-grade mc-Si using the PECVD process is now well established, the high substrate temperature required (∼ 300°C) does not lend itself to electronic devices with exible form factors fabricated on low-cost plastic substrates. In this study, we first investigated an intrinsic mc-Si layer deposited at plastic-compatible substrate temperatures (150°C) by characterising the properties of the film and then evaluated its applicability to p-i-n solar cells though device characterisation. When the performance of the solar cell was correlated with film properties, it was found that, although it compared unfavourably with mc-Si deposited at higher temperatures, it remained a very promising option. Nonetheless, further development is required to increase the overall efficiency of mc-Si exible solar cells. © 2012 SPIE

Organic solvent wetting properties of UV and plasma treated ZnO nanorods -Printed electronics approach

Due to low manufacturing costs, printed organic solar cells are on the short-list of renewable and environmentally-friendly energy production technologies of the future. However, electrode materials and each photoactive layer require different techniques and approaches. Printing technologies have attracted considerable attention for or-ganic electronics due to their potentially high volume and low cost processing. A case in point is the interface between the substrate and solution (ink) drop, which is a particularly critical issue for printing quality. In addition, methods such as UV, oxygen and argon plasma treatments have proven suitable to increasing the hy-drophilicity of treated surfaces. Among several methods of measuring the ink-substrate interface, the simplest and most reliable is the contact angle method. In terms of nanoscale device applications, zinc oxide (ZnO) has gained popularity, owing to its physical and chemical properties. In particular, there is a growing interest in exploit-ing the unique properties that the so-called nanorod structure exhibits for future 1-dimensional opto-electronic devices. Applications, such as photodiodes, thin-film transistors, sensors and photo anodes in photovoltaic cells have already been demonstrated. This paper presents the wettability properties of ZnO nanorods treated with UV illumination, oxygen and argon plasma for various periods of time. Since this work concentrates on solar cell applications, four of the most common solutions used in organic solar cell manufacture were tested: P3HT:PCBM DCB, P3HT:PCBM CHB, PEDOT:PSS and water. The achieved results prove that different treatments change the contact angle differently. Moreover, solvent behaviour varied uniquely with the applied treatment. © 2012 SPIE