Complete sequencing of TP53 predicts poor response to systemic therapy of advanced breast cancer

TP53 has been implicated in regulation of the cell cycle, DNA repair, and apoptosis. We studied, in primary breast tumors through direct cDNA sequencing of exons 2-11, whether TP53 gene mutations can predict response in patients with advanced disease to either first-line tamoxifen therapy (202 patients, of whom 55% responded) or up-front (poly)chemotherapy (41 patients, of whom 46% responded). TP53 mutations were detected in 90 of 243 (37%) tumors, and one-fourth of these mutations resulted in a premature termination of the protein. The mutations were observed in 32% (65 of 202) of the primary tumors of tamoxifen-treated patients and in 61% (25 of 41) of the primary tumors of the chemotherapy patients. TP53 mutation was significantly associated with a poor response to tamoxifen [31% versu

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

Energy transfer in a conjugated polymer with reduced inter-chain coupling

Energy transfer in spin-coated films and solutions of poly(dioctylphenylthiophene) with bulky side chains has been studied by femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy, polarisation anisotropy and excitation annihilation. A red shift of stimulated emission spectra with time and a gradual decay of anisotropy are observed in him and solution and attributed to excitation migration towards lower-energy sites. At high-excitation intensities singlet-singlet annihilation with time-independent rate dominates the decay of excited-state population in the film for short times. It is concluded that energy migration in film, which results in effective excitation trapping and nonradiative decay, is a three-dimensional process, while in solution a one-dimensional intra-chain energy migration is much more limited. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.</p

Conformational disorder of a substituted polythiophene in solution revealed by excitation transfer

Anisotropy and isotropic transient absorption decays of a polythiophene derivative in dilute solution have been measured and compared to calculated decays on Monte Carlo simulated polymer chains to obtain knowledge about the geometrical conformation of the polymer. The polymer chain conformations are generated by a partially correlated self-avoiding random walk. Excitation migration along the isolated chain is modeled assuming a hopping mechanism. This approach can be used to determine conformational disorder and possible realizations of the polymer chains in solution as well as the trapping time and migration length of the excitation. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.</p

High luminescence from a substituted polythiophene in a solvent with low solubility

Steady-state and rime-resolved photoluminescence (PL) is used to probe different states of order in highly regular poly(3-(2'-methoxy-5'-octylphenyl)thiophene) (POMeOPT). In a good solvent (chloroform) the polymer has a PL yield of 0.33 and in a solvent with low solubility (mixture of chloroform and toluene) a new phase appears with higher PL yield (0.50). The new phase is attributed to micro-crystals formed by the regular part of the polymer which have low solubility in toluene. The crystallites have highly structured and redshifted electronic transitions compared with chains which are dissolved. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.</p

Optical emission from confined poly(thiophene) chains

We discuss the stages of the luminescence processes in substituted and soluble poly(thiophenes), using results from determinations of absolute quantum yields of photoluminescence, fast pump-probe experiments and microcavity devices. Enhancement of the quantum yield of photoluminescence, with poly(thiophenes) in the solid state, call be obtained by dispersing the conjugated chain in a molecularly dispersed polymer blend, or by adding side chains designed for forcing the conjugated main chains apart. At the wavelength of stimulated emission, we observe a narrow bandwidth emission in the high-Q one-dimensional microcavity devices prepared by sandwiching two dielectric mirrors around a thin polymer film, A strong enhancement of the power efficiency is observed at a pump power of 1 mu W/cm(2), but does not conclusively show lasing characteristics. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.</p