Semiconductor thin films by chemical bath deposition for solar energy related applications.

In this paper we present the basic concepts underlying the chemical bath deposition technique and the recipes developed in our laboratory during the past ten years for the deposition of good-quality thin films of CdS, CdSe, ZnS, ZnSe, PbS, SnS, Bi2 S 3 , Bi2 Se3 , Sb2 S 3 , CuS, CuSe, etc. Typical growth curves, and optical and electrical properties of these films are presented. The effect of annealing the films in air on their structure and composition and on the electrical properties is notable: CdS and ZnS films become conductive through a partial conversion to oxide phase; CdSe becomes photosensitive, SnS converts to SnO2 , etc. The use of precipitates formed during deposition for screen printing and sintering, in polymer composites and as a source for vapor-phase deposition is presented. Some examples of the application of the films in solar energy related work are presented

The transmembrane channel-like 6 (TMC6) in primary sensory neurons involving thermal sensation via modulating M channels

Introduction: The transmembrane channel-like (TMC) protein family contains eight members, TMC1–TMC8. Among these members, only TMC1 and TMC2 have been intensively studied. They are expressed in cochlear hair cells and are crucial for auditory sensations. TMC6 and TMC8 contribute to epidermodysplasia verruciformis, and predispose individuals to human papilloma virus. However, the impact of TMC on peripheral sensation pain has not been previously investigated.Methods: RNAscope was employed to detect the distribution of TMC6 mRNA in DRG neurons. Electrophysiological recordings were conducted to investigate the effects of TMC6 on neuronal characteristics and M channel activity. Zn2+ indicators were utilized to detect the zinc concentration in DRG tissues and dissociated neurons. A series of behavioural tests were performed to assess thermal and mechanical sensation in mice under both physiological and pathological conditions.Results and Discussion: We demonstrated that TMC6 is mainly expressed in small and medium dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and is involved in peripheral heat nociception. Deletion of TMC6 in DRG neurons hyperpolarizes the resting membrane potential and inhibits neuronal excitability. Additionally, the function of the M channel is enhanced in TMC6 deletion DRG neurons owing to the increased quantity of free zinc in neurons. Indeed, heat and mechanical hyperalgesia in chronic pain are alleviated in TMC6 knockout mice, particularly in the case of heat hyperalgesia. This suggests that TMC6 in the small and medium DRG neurons may be a potential target for chronic pain treatment

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Quantum wavepacket method for state-to-state reactive cross sections in hyperspherical coordinates

We present theory for calculating state-to-state differential cross sections (DCS) of triatomic reactive scattering in hyperspherical coordinates using a quantum wavepacket method. The adiabatically adjusting, principal axes hyperspherical coordinates proposed by Pack and Parker [J. Chem. Phys. 87, 3888 (1987)] are applied, which deal with all arrangement channels equivalently, allowing the analysis of the products in all three arrangement channels with one main propagation. The propagated wavepacket is analyzed by projecting it onto the product ro-vibrational states at a fixed, asymptotic radius, R, of the corresponding Jacobi coordinates; thus, the channel-specified S-matrix elements can be calculated by matching the projections with the boundary conditions in the Jacobi coordinates. For numerical demonstrations, state-to-state DCS of the H + HD (v(0) = 0, j(0) = 0) reaction and state-to-state reaction probabilities of the O + O-2 (v(0) = 0, j(0) = 0) reaction and the F + HCl (v(0) = 0, j(0) = 0) -> HF + Cl reaction for zero total angular momentum are presented. The second order split operator method and the Chebyshev polynomial expansion method were applied to propagate the wavefunction. The relative numerical efficiencies for calculating the state-to-state information of triatomic reactive scattering using the hyperspherical coordinate and the reactant Jacobi coordinate are discussed. Published by AIP Publishing

Screening of Differentially Expressed Genes and Localization Analysis of Female Gametophyte at the Free Nuclear Mitosis Stage in <i>Pinus tabuliformis</i> Carr.

Female sterility is a common phenomenon in the plant world, and systematic research has not been carried out in gymnosperms. In this study, the ovules of No. 28 sterile line and No. 15 fertile line Pinus tabuliformis were used as materials, and a total of 18 cDNA libraries were sequenced by the HiSeqTM 4000 platform to analyze the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and simple sequence repeats (SSRs) between the two lines. In addition, this study further analyzed the DEGs involved in the signal transduction of plant hormones, revealing that the signal pathways related to auxin, cytokinin, and gibberellin were blocked in the sterile ovule. Additionally, real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR verified that the expression trend of DEGs related to plant hormones was consistent with the results of high-throughput sequencing. Frozen sections and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were used to study the temporal and spatial expression patterns of PtRab in the ovules of P. tabuliformis. It was found that PtRab was significantly expressed in female gametophytes and rarely expressed in the surrounding diploid tissues. This study further explained the molecular regulation mechanism of female sterility in P. tabuliformis, preliminarily mining the key factors of ovule abortion in gymnosperms at the transcriptional level

An interaction-asymptotic region decomposition method for general state-to-state reactive scatterings

A single set of coordinates, which is optimal for both asymptotic product and reactant, is difficult to find in a state-to-state reactive scattering calculation using the quantum wave packet method. An interaction-asymptotic region decomposition (IARD) method was proposed in this work to solve this "coordinate problem." In the method, the interaction region and asymptotic regions are applied with the local optimal coordinate system, i.e., hyperspherical and corresponding Jacobi coordinates. The IARD method is capable of efficiently and accurately accomplishing a calculation with a grid box for the Jacobi coordinate R extending several hundred bohrs for both reactant and product arrangements. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the IARD method with the reaction of H + HD, which is the simplest direct reaction, and F + HD, which is a typical reaction involving resonances with products of extremely slow translational energy and requires extremely long absorbing potential in all channels. Published under license by AIP Publishing

The complete mitochondrial genome of Omei Treefrog (Rhacophorus omeimontis)

In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of Rhacophorus omeimontis was obtained and described. The sequenced mitogenome is total 19,604 base pairs (bp) in length, which contained 13 protein-coding genes (PCGS), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNA), 2 ribosomal RNA genes (rRNA), and 2 control regions (D-loop). The overall base composition of the mitochondrial DNA is 32.5% for A, 30.5% for T, 23.3% for C, and 13.7% for G, and the percentage of GC content is 37.0%. The complete mitochondrial genome information of R. omeimontis will contribute to revealing the phylogenetic relationships among species of family Rhacophoridae