Transparent Conductive Films Based on Polymer-Encapsulated Graphene Oxide Sheets

Transparent conductive films (TCFs) play a key role in number of devices, including solar panels, LCD/OLED displays and touchscreens. Graphene has emerged as a promising material in this area due to its unique mechanical and electrical properties. Despite noteworthy progress in the fabrication of large-area graphene sheet-like nanomaterials, the vapor-based processing still requires sophisticated equipment and a multistage handling of the material. An alternative approach to manufacturing functional graphene-based films includes the employment of graphene oxide (GO) micron-scale sheets as precursors. However, search for a scalable manufacturing technique for the production of high-quality GO nanoscale films with high uniformity and high electrical conductivity is still continuing. The study presented in this dissertation is dedicated to the fabrication and characterization of electrically conductive films made of reduced graphene oxide sheets (rGO) deposited on both rigid and flexible substrates. Here we show that conventional dip-coating technique can offer fabrication of high quality mono- and bilayered films made of GO sheets. The method is based on our recent discovery that encapsulating individual GO sheets in a nanometer-thick copolymer layer poly(Oligo Ethylene Glycol methyl ether Methacrylate [OEGMA]- Glycidyl Methacrylate [GMA]) allows for the nearly perfect formation of the GO layers on hydrophilic substrates. By thermal reduction at 1000 ⁰C the bilayers (cemented by a carbon-forming polymer linker) are converted into highly conductive and transparent reduced GO films with a high conductivity up to 10000 S/cm and optical transparency on the level of 90%. The value is the highest electrical conductivity reported for thermally reduced nanoscale GO films and is close to the conductivity of indium tin oxide (ITO) currently in use for transparent electronic devices, thus making these layers intriguing candidates for replacement of ITO films. To facilitate the deposition of GO sheets on rigid and flexible hydrophobic substrates, the amphiphilic copolymer poly(Oligo Ethylene Glycol methyl ether Methacrylate [OEGMA]- Glycidyl Methacrylate [GMA]- Lauryl Methacrylate [LMA]) with additional hydrophobic block was used. The results show that the obtained GO layers had well-defined and uniform structure. Thus, it leads to enhanced hydrophobic-hydrophobic (van der Waals) interaction between the hydrophobic substrate and GO. To this end, the morphology, opto-electrical properties and electro-mechanical stability of chemically reduced GO layers are also investigated. Finally, we demonstrate the excellent stability of rGO on polymeric substrates with no delamination or significant loss in conductivity even after 50000 bending cycle

Modeling Dynamics of Gel-Based Composites Under Ferromagnetic Resonance Heating

Designing soft, active materials that change their shape and properties depending on external stimuli is a rapidly developing area of research. Using theoretical and computational modeling, we focus on the dynamics of gel filled with uniformly distributed ferromagnetic nanoparticles exposed to electromagnetic (EM) waves in the GHz frequency range. For the polymer matrix, we choose Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) gels, which have a lower critical solution temperature and shrinks upon heating. When these composites are irradiated with EM waves that have frequency close to that of the Ferro-Magnetic Resonance (FMR) frequency, the heating rate increases dramatically. The magnetically induced heating inside the nanoparticles is transferred to the gel matrix. We show that the dissipated EM energy causes volume phase transitions in the gel, as a response to temperature change, leading to the large deformations of the sample for a range of system parameters. We propose a model that accounts for the dynamic coupling between the elastodynamics of polymer gels and FMR heating of magnetic nanoparticles. This coupling is non-linear: as the system is heated and the gel shrinks at the temperatures close to the volume phase transition temperature, the particles concentration increases, which in turn results in an increase of the heating rates as long as the concentration of nanoparticles does not exceed a critical value. We show that the system exhibits high selectivity to the frequency of the incident EM radiation and can result in a large mechanical feedback in response to the time-varying power signal. These results suggest a design of a new class of soft active gel-based materials remotely controlled by the low power EM signals within the GHz frequency range

Періодизація російсько-американських відносин у постбіполярну епоху (Periodization of Russian and American relations in postbipolar age)

Статтю присвячено аналізу російсько-американських відносин з початку краху біполярної системи до наших днів. Подається коротка характеристика та аналіз змін у стосунках між Російською Федерацією та Сполученими Штатами Америки у різні періоди (The article deals with the analysis of Russian and American relations from the frst days of bipolar system collapse to these days. The changes in Russian and American relations in different periods are characterised and analysed.

Гнійна інфекція м’яких тканин таза і стегна, спричинена внутрішньоматковою спіраллю

У статті наведено результати ретроспективного вивчення клінічного випадку тяжкої гнійної інфекції таза і стегна, спричиненої тривалим перебуванням внутрішньоматкової спіралі

Going the extra (synaptic) mile: excitotoxicity as the road toward neurodegenerative diseases

Copyright © 2020 Armada-Moreira, Gomes, Pina, Savchak, Gonçalves-Ribeiro, Rei, Pinto, Morais, Martins, Ribeiro, Sebastião, Crunelli and Vaz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Excitotoxicity is a phenomenon that describes the toxic actions of excitatory neurotransmitters, primarily glutamate, where the exacerbated or prolonged activation of glutamate receptors starts a cascade of neurotoxicity that ultimately leads to the loss of neuronal function and cell death. In this process, the shift between normal physiological function and excitotoxicity is largely controlled by astrocytes since they can control the levels of glutamate on the synaptic cleft. This control is achieved through glutamate clearance from the synaptic cleft and its underlying recycling through the glutamate-glutamine cycle. The molecular mechanism that triggers excitotoxicity involves alterations in glutamate and calcium metabolism, dysfunction of glutamate transporters, and malfunction of glutamate receptors, particularly N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptors (NMDAR). On the other hand, excitotoxicity can be regarded as a consequence of other cellular phenomena, such as mitochondrial dysfunction, physical neuronal damage, and oxidative stress. Regardless, it is known that the excessive activation of NMDAR results in the sustained influx of calcium into neurons and leads to several deleterious consequences, including mitochondrial dysfunction, reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction, impairment of calcium buffering, the release of pro-apoptotic factors, among others, that inevitably contribute to neuronal loss. A large body of evidence implicates NMDAR-mediated excitotoxicity as a central mechanism in the pathogenesis of many neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and epilepsy. In this review article, we explore different causes and consequences of excitotoxicity, discuss the involvement of NMDAR-mediated excitotoxicity and its downstream effects on several neurodegenerative disorders, and identify possible strategies to study new aspects of these diseases that may lead to the discovery of new therapeutic approaches. With the understanding that excitotoxicity is a common denominator in neurodegenerative diseases and other disorders, a new perspective on therapy can be considered, where the targets are not specific symptoms, but the underlying cellular phenomena of the disease.This work was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal (PTDC/BTM-SAL/32147/2017, PD/BD/114278/2016, IMM/BI/2-2020), and by FCT/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES) through Fundos do Orçamento de Estado (UID/BIM/50005/2019). TM was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska/Curie grant agreement No. 722053.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The European internet-based patient and research database for primary immunodeficiencies: results 2006-2008

Primary immunodeficiencies (PID) are rare diseases; therefore transnational studies are essential to maximize the scientific outcome and to improve diagnosis and therapy. In order to estimate the prevalence of PID in Europe as well as to establish and evaluate harmonized guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of PID, the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) has developed an internet-based database for clinical and research data on patients with PID. This database is a platform for epidemiological analyses as well as the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies and the identification of novel disease-associated genes. Within 4 years, 7430 patients from 39 countries have been documented in the ESID database. Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) represents the most common entity, with 1540 patients or 20.7% of all entries, followed by isolated immunoglobulin (Ig)G subclass deficiency (546 patients, 7.4%). Evaluations show that the average life expectancy for PID patients varies from 1 to 49 years (median), depending on the type of PID. The prevalence and incidence of PID remains a key question to be answered. As the registration progress is far from finished we can only calculate minimum values for PID, with e.g. France currently showing a minimum prevalence of 3.72 patients per 100,000 inhabitants. The most frequently documented permanent treatment is immunoglobulin replacement; 2819 patients (42% of all patients alive) currently receive this form of treatment

Geographical Distribution, Incidence, Malignancies, and Outcome of 136 Eastern Slavic Patients With Nijmegen Breakage Syndrome and NBN Founder Variant c.657_661del5

Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS) is a DNA repair disorder characterized by combined immunodeficiency and a high predisposition to lymphoid malignancies. The majority of NBS patients are identified with a homozygous five base pair deletion in the Nibrin (NBN) gene (c.657_661del5, p.K219fsX19) with a founder effect observed in Caucasian European populations, especially of Slavic origin. We present here an analysis of a cohort of 136 NBS patients of Eastern Slav origin across Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, and Latvia with a focus on understanding the geographic distribution, incidence of malignancy, and treatment outcomes of this cohort. Our analysis shows that Belarus had the highest prevalence of NBS (2.3 per 1,000,000), followed by Ukraine (1.3 per 1,000,000), and Russia (0.7 per 1,000,000). Of note, the highest concentration of NBS cases was observed in the western regions of Belarus and Ukraine, where NBS prevalence exceeds 20 cases per 1,000,000 people, suggesting the presence of an “Eastern Slavic NBS hot spot.” The median age at diagnosis of this cohort ranged from 4 to 5 years, and delay in diagnosis was more pervasive in smaller cities and rural regions. A total of 62 (45%) patients developed malignancies, more commonly in males than females (55.2 vs. 34.2%; p=0.017). In 27 patients, NBS was diagnosed following the onset of malignancies (mean age: 8 years). Malignancies were mostly of lymphoid origin and predominantly non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) (n=42, 68%); 38% of patients had diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The 20-year overall survival rate of patients with malignancy was 24%. However, females with cancer experienced poorer event-free survival rates than males (16.6% vs. 46.8%, p=0.036). Of 136 NBS patients, 13 underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) with an overall survival of 3.5 years following treatment (range: 1 to 14 years). Indications for HSCT included malignancy (n=7) and immunodeficiency (n=6). Overall, 9% of patients in this cohort reached adulthood. Adult survivors reported diminished quality of life with significant physical and cognitive impairments. Our study highlights the need to improve timely diagnosis and clinical management of NBS among Eastern Slavs. Genetic counseling and screening should be offered to individuals with a family history of NBS, especially in hot spot regions. © Copyright © 2021 Sharapova, Pashchenko, Bondarenko, Vakhlyarskaya, Prokofjeva, Fedorova, Savchak, Mareika, Valiev, Popa, Tuzankina, Vlasova, Sakovich, Polyakova, Rumiantseva, Naumchik, Kulyova, Aleshkevich, Golovataya, Minakovskaya, Belevtsev, Latysheva, Latysheva, Beznoshchenko, Akopyan, Makukh, Kozlova, Varabyou, Ballow, Ong, Walter, Kondratenko, Kostyuchenko and Aleinikova.We thank all doctors for clinical help for patients. We also appreciate the support of patient and their parents for agreeing to take part in this study. TP thanks Sergey?Nikulshin, Marika Grutupa, and Zanna Kovalova. We thank Joseph Dasso for editing this manuscript, primarily for proper English

Happy Marketing La psicología positiva en las marcas y su efecto en el consumidor

Treball de fi de grau en Publicitat i Relacions PúbliquesEl interés por la psicología positiva no ha hecho más que crecer en nuestra sociedad. Son cada vez más las marcas que se apoderan de conceptos y discursos del ámbito para conseguir conectar con el consumidor. Esto lo que provoca es que la forma de comprender y sentir las emociones sea afectada por la comunicación de las marcas, generando un cúmulo de mensajes positivos y una única forma de entender las emociones. El siguiente ensayo tiene el objetivo de analizar de qué manera se aplica la psicología positiva en las marcas y que consecuencias tiene el happy marketing en la sociedad

LINGUO-CULTURAL APPROACH TO FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SPECIALISTS

The approaches to foreign languages teaching have been changed over the last years. It has been connected with the humanization of education. Language is no longer considered to be the main mean of communication, but just as a way of other nations’ and cultures’ discovering. Foreign language learning through the prism of culture is the basis of linguocultural approach. Linguocultural approach reflects the modern requirements of foreign language teaching and enables students to master linguistic knowledge and communicative skills together with a whole set of cultural knowledge. Within this approach the culture becomes the object of study and language is used as an additional mean of getting information. Learning the culture of another country helps to overcome communicative barriers, be tolerant towards the attitudes and beliefs of other peoples, and understand clearly the socio-cultural norms and foundations of intercultural communication. Linguocultural approach involves the formation of linguocultural competence that is a system of both knowledge and skills about the culture and the ability to use them in a particular communicative situation. This competence is usually formed on the basis of a text that not only preserves and passes the information from one generation to another, but is also the product of a particular historical epoch and the form of existence of national culture and mentality. Another effective mean of foreign language teaching within linguocultural approach is the use of video and audio materials that can demonstrate linguocultural reality. Using of linguocultural approach in foreign language teaching allows students to interpret the cultural phenomenon of their own nation in foreign cultures’ reflection which is a necessary prerequisite of the specialist outlook formation