Status report on emerging photovoltaics

\ua9 2023 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).This report provides a snapshot of emerging photovoltaic (PV) technologies. It consists of concise contributions from experts in a wide range of fields including silicon, thin film, III-V, perovskite, organic, and dye-sensitized PVs. Strategies for exceeding the detailed balance limit and for light managing are presented, followed by a section detailing key applications and commercialization pathways. A section on sustainability then discusses the need for minimization of the environmental footprint in PV manufacturing and recycling. The report concludes with a perspective based on broad survey questions presented to the contributing authors regarding the needs and future evolution of PV

Ki-67 can be used for further classification of triple negative breast cancer into two subtypes with different response and prognosis

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Introduction: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) has a poorer survival, despite a higher response rate to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The purpose of this study was to identify the predictive or prognostic value of Ki-67 among patients with TNBC treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and the role of Ki-67 in further classification of TNBC. Methods: A total of 105 TNBC patients who received neoadjuvant docetaxel/doxorubicin chemotherapy were included in the present study. Pathologic complete response (pCR) rate, relapse-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS) were compared according to the level of Ki-67. Results: pCR was observed in 13.3% of patients. TNBC with high Ki-67 expression (>= 10%) showed a higher pCR rate to neoadjuvant chemotherapy than TNBC with low Ki-67 expression. None of the low Ki-67 group achieved pCR (18.2% in the high Ki-67 group vs. 0.0% in the low Ki-67 group, P = 0.019). However, a high Ki-67 expression was significantly associated with poor RFS and OS in TNBC, despite a higher pCR rate (P = 0.005, P = 0.019, respectively). In multivariate analysis, high Ki-67 was an independent prognostic factor for RFS in TNBC (hazard ratio = 7.82, P = 0.002). The high Ki-67 group showed a similar pattern of recurrence with overall TNBC, whereas the low Ki-67 group demonstrated a relatively constant hazard rate for relapse. Conclusions: TNBC with high Ki-67 was associated with a more aggressive clinical feature despite a higher pCR rate. High proliferation index Ki-67 can be used for further classification of TNBC into two subtypes with different responses and prognosis.

Status report on emerging photovoltaics

This report provides a snapshot of emerging photovoltaic (PV) technologies. It consists of concise contributions from experts in a wide range of fields including silicon, thin film, III-V, perovskite, organic, and dye-sensitized PVs. Strategies for exceeding the detailed balance limit and for light managing are presented, followed by a section detailing key applications and commercialization pathways. A section on sustainability then discusses the need for minimization of the environmental footprint in PV manufacturing and recycling. The report concludes with a perspective based on broad survey questions presented to the contributing authors regarding the needs and future evolution of PV

Influences of HLH-2 stability on anchor cell fate specification during <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> gonadogenesis

AbstractThe Caenorhabditis eleganslin-12/lin-12lin-12lin-12(+)hlh-2lin-12hlh-2hlh-

Influences of HLH-2 stability on anchor cell fate specification during <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> gonadogenesis

Abstract The Caenorhabditis elegans E protein ortholog HLH-2 is required for the specification and function of the anchor cell, a unique, terminally differentiated somatic gonad cell that organizes uterine and vulval development. Initially, 4 cells—2 α cells and their sisters, the β cells—have the potential to be the sole anchor cell. The β cells rapidly lose anchor cell potential and invariably become ventral uterine precursor cells, while the 2 α cells interact via LIN-12/Notch to resolve which will be the anchor cell and which will become another ventral uterine precursor cell. HLH-2 protein stability is dynamically regulated in cells with anchor cell potential; initially present in all 4 cells, HLH-2 is degraded in presumptive ventral uterine precursor cells while remaining stable in the anchor cell. Here, we demonstrate that stability of HLH-2 protein is regulated by the activity of lin-12/Notch in both α and β cells. Our analysis provides evidence that activation of LIN-12 promotes degradation of HLH-2 as part of a negative feedback loop during the anchor cell/ventral uterine precursor cell decision by the α cells, and that absence of lin-12 activity in β cells increases HLH-2 stability and may account for their propensity to adopt the anchor cell fate in a lin-12 null background. We also performed an RNA interference screen of 232 ubiquitin-related genes and identified 7 genes that contribute to HLH-2 degradation in ventral uterine precursor cells; however, stabilizing HLH-2 by depleting ubiquitin ligases in a lin-12(+) background does not result in supernumerary anchor cells, suggesting that LIN-12 activation does not oppose hlh-2 activity solely by causing HLH-2 protein degradation. Finally, we provide evidence for lin-12-independent transcriptional regulation of hlh-2 in β cells that correlates with known differences in POP-1/TCF levels and anchor cell potential between α and β cells. Together, our results indicate that hlh-2 activity is regulated at multiple levels to restrict the anchor cell fate to a single cell.</jats:p

Nuclear magnetic resonance solution conformation of α-conotoxin AuIB, an α3β4 subtype-selective neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist

The neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors constitute a highly diverse group, with subtypes consisting of pentameric combinations of α and β subunits, α-Conotoxins are a homologous series of small peptides that antagonize these receptors. We present the three-dimensional solution structure of α-conotoxin AuIB, the first 15-residue α-conotoxin known to selectively block the α3β4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtype. The pair- wise backbone and heavy-atom root mean square deviation for an ensemble of 20 structures are 0.269 and 0.720 respectively. The overall fold of α- conotoxin AuIB closely resembles that of the α4/7 subfamily α-conotoxins. However, the absence of Tyr15, normally present in other α4/7 members, results in tight bending of the backbone at the C terminus and effectively renders Asp14 to assume the spatial location of Tyr15 present in other neuronal α4/7 α-conotoxins. Structural comparison of α-conotoxin AuIB with the α3β2 subtype-specific α-conotoxin MII shows different electrostatic surface charge distributions, which may be important in differential receptor subtype recognition.ope