Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial evaluating the effect of prenatal omega-3 LCPUFA supplementation to reduce the incidence of preterm birth: The ORIP trial

Introduction: Preterm birth accounts for more than 85% of all perinatal complications and deaths. Seventy-five per cent of early preterm births (EPTBs) occur spontaneously and without identifiable risk factors. The need for a broadly applicable, effective strategy for primary prevention is paramount. Secondary outcomes from the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to Optimise Mother Infant Outcome trial showed that maternal supplementation until delivery with omega-3 (ω-3) long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA), predominantly as DHA, resulted in a 50% reduction in the incidence of EPTB and an increase in the incidence of post-term induction or post-term prelabour caesarean section due to extended gestation. We aim to determine the effectiveness of supplementing the maternal diet with ω-3 LCPUFA until 34 weeks’ gestation on the incidence of EPTB. Methods and analysis: This is a multicentre, parallel group, randomised, blinded and controlled trial. Women less than 20 weeks’ gestation with a singleton or multiple pregnancy and able to give informed consent are eligible to participate. Women will be randomised to receive high DHA fish oil capsules or control capsules without DHA. Capsules will be taken from enrolment until 34 weeks’ gestation. The primary outcome is the incidence of EPTB, defined as delivery before 34 completed weeks’ gestation. Key secondary outcomes include length of gestation, incidence of post-term induction or prelabour caesarean section and spontaneous EPTB. The target sample size is 5540 women (2770 per group), which will provide 85% power to detect an absolute reduction in the incidence of preterm birth of 1.16% (from 2.45% to 1.29%) between the DHA and control group (two sided α=0.05). The primary analysis will be based on the intention-to-treat principle. Trial registration number: Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry Number: 2613001142729; Pre-results

The Role of the Interfaces in Perovskite Solar Cells

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (HPSCs) have achieved an impressive power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.2% in 2019. At this stage, it is of paramount importance to understand in detail the working mechanism of these devices and which physical and chemical processes govern not only their power conversion efficiency but also their long-term stability. The interfaces between the perovskite film and the charge transport layers are among the most important factors in determining both the PCE and stability of HPSCs. Herein, an overview is provided on the recent advances in the fundamental understanding of how these interfaces influence the performance of HPSCs. Firstly, it is discussed how the surface energy of the charge transport layer, the energy level alignment at the interfaces, the charge transport in interfacial layers, defects and mobile ions in the perovskite film, and interfacial layers or at the interfaces affect the charge recombination as well as hysteresis and light soaking phenomenon. Then it is discussed how the interfaces and interfacial materials influence the stability of HPSCs. At the same time, an overview is also provided on the various design strategies for the interfaces and the interfacial materials. At the end, the outlook for the development of highly efficient and stable HPSCs is provided

Cooling, Scattering, and Recombination-The Role of the Material Quality for the Physics of Tin Halide Perovskites

Tin-based perovskites have long remained a side topic in current perovskite optoelectronic research. With the recent efficiency improvement in thin film solar cells and the observation of a long hot carrier cooling time in formamidinium tin iodide (FASnI(3)), a thorough understanding of the material's photophysics becomes a pressing matter. Since pronounced background doping can easily obscure the actual material properties, it is of paramount importance to understand how different processing conditions affect the observed behavior. Using photoluminescence spectroscopy, thin films of FASnI(3) fabricated through different protocols are therefore investigated. It is shown that hot carrier relaxation occurs much faster in highly p-doped films due to carrier-carrier scattering. From high quality thin films, the longitudinal optical phonon energy and the electron-phonon coupling constant are extracted, which are fundamental to understanding carrier cooling. Importantly, high quality films allow for the observation of a previously unreported state of microsecond lifetime at lower energy in FASnI(3), that has important consequences for the discussion of long lived emission in the field of metal halide perovskites

Tin Halide Perovskites:From Fundamental Properties to Solar Cells

Metal halide perovskites have unique optical and electrical properties, which make them an excellent class of materials for a broad spectrum of optoelectronic applications. However, it is with photovoltaic devices that this class of materials has reached the apotheosis of popularity. High power conversion efficiencies are achieved with lead-based compounds, which are toxic to the environment. Tin-based perovskites are the most promising alternative because of their bandgap close to the optimal value for photovoltaic applications, the strong optical absorption, and good charge carrier mobilities. Nevertheless, the low defect tolerance, the fast crystallization, and the oxidative instability of tin halide perovskites currently limit their efficiency. The aim of this review is to give a detailed overview of the crystallographic, photophysical, and optoelectronic properties of tin-based perovskite compounds in their multiple forms from 3D to low-dimensional structures. At the end, recent progress in tin-based perovskite solar cells are reviewed, mainly focusing on the detail of the strategies adopted to improve the device performances. For each subtopic, the current challenges and the outlook are discussed, with the aim to stimulate the community to address the most important issues in a concerted manner

Mendelian randomization shows a causal effect of low vitamin D on multiple sclerosis risk.

ObjectiveWe sought to estimate the causal effect of low serum 25(OH)D on multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility that is not confounded by environmental or lifestyle factors or subject to reverse causality.MethodsWe conducted mendelian randomization (MR) analyses using an instrumental variable (IV) comprising 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms found to be associated with serum 25(OH)D levels at genome-wide significance. We analyzed the effect of the IV on MS risk and both age at onset and disease severity in 2 separate populations using logistic regression models that controlled for sex, year of birth, smoking, education, genetic ancestry, body mass index at age 18-20 years or in 20s, a weighted genetic risk score for 110 known MS-associated variants, and the presence of one or more HLA-DRB1*15:01 alleles.ResultsFindings from MR analyses using the IV showed increasing levels of 25(OH)D are associated with a decreased risk of MS in both populations. In white, non-Hispanic members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California (1,056 MS cases and 9,015 controls), the odds ratio (OR) was 0.79 (p = 0.04, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.64-0.99). In members of a Swedish population from the Epidemiological Investigation of Multiple Sclerosis and Genes and Environment in Multiple Sclerosis MS case-control studies (6,335 cases and 5,762 controls), the OR was 0.86 (p = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.76-0.98). A meta-analysis of the 2 populations gave a combined OR of 0.85 (p = 0.003, 95% CI: 0.76-0.94). No association was observed for age at onset or disease severity.ConclusionsThese results provide strong evidence that low serum 25(OH)D concentration is a cause of MS, independent of established risk factors

Active natural compounds perturb the melanoma risk-gene network

Cutaneous melanoma is an aggressive type of skin cancer with a complex genetic landscape caused by the malignant transformation of melanocytes. This study aimed at providing an in-silico network model based on the systematic profiling of the melanoma-associated genes considering germline mutations, somatic mutations, and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) signals accounting for a total of 232 unique melanoma risk genes. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the melanoma risk genes as seeds and evaluated to describe the functional landscape in which the melanoma genes operate within the cellular milieu. Not only were the majority of the melanoma risk genes able to interact with each other at the protein level within the core of the network, but this showed significant enrichment for genes whose expression is altered in human melanoma specimens. Functional annotation showed the melanoma risk network to be significantly associated with processes related to DNA metabolism and telomeres, DNA damage and repair, cellular ageing, and response to radiation. We further explored whether the melanoma risk network could be used as an in-silico tool to predict the efficacy of anti-melanoma phytochemicals, that are considered active molecules with potentially less systemic toxicity than classical cytotoxic drugs. A significant portion of the melanoma risk network showed differential expression when SK-MEL-28 human melanoma cells were exposed to the phytochemicals harmine and berberine chloride. This reinforced our hypothesis that the network modelling approach not only provides an alternative way to identify molecular pathways relevant to disease, but it may also represent an alternative screening approach to prioritize potentially active compounds

Addition of Ammonium Thiocyanate Alters the Microstructure and Energetic Landscape of 2D/3D Perovskite Films

Mixtures of low-dimensional and 3D perovskite phases have attracted significant attention due to their improved stability with respect to purely 3D perovskites. One of the strategies to gain control over the complex crystallization of these 2D/3D perovskite films and obtain well-ordered thin films is through the additive engineering of the precursor solution. In this work, the influence of ammonium thiocyanate addition on the microstructural and optical properties of thin films of (PEA)2(MA)n−1PbnI3n+1 is investigated for different n values.</p