Triplet-state di(cation radicals) of 1,3-phenylene-bis(methylene phosphorane)

EPR spectroscopy is used to characterize a novel triplet ground state diradical obtained from oxidation of 1,3-phenylene-bis{[(4-t-butylphenyl)methylene]triphenyl phosphorane}.</p

Development of an evaluation tool for geriatric rehabilitation care

Background: Geriatric rehabilitation care (GRC) is short-term and multidisciplinary rehabilitation care for older vulnerable clients. Studies were conducted about its effects. However, elements that influence the quality of GRC have not been studied previously. Methods: In this study realist evaluation is used to find out which are the mechanisms and outcomes and which (groups of) persons are the context for GRC, according to GRC professionals. The mechanisms, outcomes and context of GRC were explored in three consecutive phases of qualitative data gathering, i.e. individual interviews, expert meeting, and focus groups. Results: Eight mechanisms — client centeredness, client satisfaction during rehabilitation, therapeutic climate, information provision to client and informal care givers, consultation about the rehabilitation (process), cooperation within the MultiDisciplinary Team (MDT), professionalism of GRC professionals, and organizational aspects — were found. Four context groups—the client, his family and/or informal care giver(s), the individual GRC professional, and the MDT—were mentioned by the respondents. Last, two outcome factors were determined, i.e. client satisfaction at discharge and rehabilitation goals accomplished. Conclusions: In order to translate these insights into a practical tool that can be used by MDTs in the practice of GRC, identified mechanisms, contexts, and outcomes were visualized in a GRC evaluation tool. A graphic designer developed an interactive PDF which is the GRC evaluation tool. This tool may enable MDTs to discuss, prioritize, evaluate, and improve the quality of their GRC practice. Keywords: Geriatric rehabilitation care (GRC), Quality improvement, Evaluation, Realist evaluation, Mechanisms, Context, Outcomes, GRC evaluation too

Double and triple junction polymer solar cells processed from solution

Multiple junction solar cells incorporating polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunctions as active layers and soln. processed electron and hole transport layers are presented. The recombination layer, deposited between the active layers, is fabricated by spin coating ZnO nanoparticles from acetone, followed by spin coating neutral pH poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) from water and short UV illumination of the completed device. The key advantage of this procedure is that each step does not affect the integrity of previously deposited layers. The open-circuit voltage (Voc) for double and triple junction solar cells is close to the sum of the Voc's of individual cells. [on SciFinder (R)

Ontogenetic stage-specific reciprocal intraguild predation

The size or stage of interacting individuals is known to affect the outcome of ecological interactions and can have important consequences for population dynamics. This is also true for intraguild predation (the killing and eating of potential competitors), where the size or ontogenetic stage of an individual determines whether it is the intraguild predator or the intraguild prey. Studying size- or stage-specific interactions is therefore important, but can be challenging in species with complex life histories. Here, we investigated predatory interactions of all feeding stages of the two predatory mite species Neoseiulus californicus and Phytoseiulus macropilis, both of which have complex life cycles, typical for predatory arthropods. Populations of these two species compete for two-spotted spider mites, their prey. We evaluated both the capacity to kill stages of the other predator species and the capacity to benefit from feeding on these stages, both prerequisites for the occurrence of intraguild predation. Ontogeny played a critical role in the occurrence of intraguild predation. Whereas the juveniles of P. macropilis developed from larva until adulthood when feeding on N. californicus eggs, interestingly, adult female P. macropilis did not feed on the smaller stages of the other species. We furthermore show that intraguild predation was reciprocal: both juveniles and adult females of N. californicus preyed on the smallest stages of P. macropilis. These results suggest that a proper analysis of the interactions between pairs of species involved in intraguild predation should start with an inventory of the interactions among all ontogenetic stages of these species

Bélemnites de Valanginien : Nouvelles observations taxonomiques et stratigraphiques

Six new Valanginian belemnite species (Duvalia crassa sp. nov., Duvalia elongata sp. nov., Duvalia kleini sp. nov., Duvalia superconstricta sp. nov., Castellanibelus vaubellensis sp. nov., and "Hibolithes" lebresensis sp. nov.) are described here and two species (Duvalia aff. elongata and "Hibolithes" aff. pistilliformis (Blainville, 1827)) are left in open nomenclature. They come from both the distal and proximal parts of the Vocontian Basin in south-east France and the Baetic Cordillera in south-east Spain. In addition lectotypes are selected for Castellanibelus orbignyanus (Duval-Jouve, 1841), Castellanibelus picteti (Mayer, 1866), and Duvalia lata (Blainville, 1827).Six espèces nouvelles de bélemnites valanginiennes (Duvalia crassa sp. nov., Duvalia elongata sp. nov., Duvalia kleini sp. nov., Duvalia superconstricta sp. nov., Castellanibelus vaubellensis sp. nov. et "Hibolithes" lebresensis sp. nov.) sont décrites ici alors que deux autres (Duvalia aff. elongata et "Hibolithes" aff. pistilliformis (Blainville, 1827)) sont laissées en nomenclature ouverte. Elles proviennent des parties distales et proximales du bassin vocontien dans le sud-est de la France et des Cordillères bétiques dans le sud-est de l'Espagne. De plus, des lectotypes sont désignés pour les espèces Castellanibelus orbignyanus (Duval-Jouve, 1841), Castellanibelus picteti (Mayer, 1866), et Duvalia lata (Blainville, 1827)