Rational and intuitive approaches to music composition: The impact of individual differences in thinking/learning styles on compositional processes

This study explores the idea that there are two different types of composers, those that use a rational process of composition involving pre-planning and use of external systems and those that use an intuitive process that involves trial and error or other exploratory means for composing. It focuses on further understanding these patterns of thought as they are found in the compositional processes of student composers as well as investigating their learning preferences. The study examines the compositional processes of five composition students from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music selected using their results on the SOLAT (Style Of Learning And Thinking) measure (Torrance, McCarthy & Kolesinski, 1988). After interviewing the five participants, a model was developed that explained how rational and intuitive patterns of thought were used at different levels. The macroprocesses of participants were found to sit on a continuum between rational and intuitive whilst at the micro-level participants were seen to use a mixture of both processes. The interview participants were also asked to comment on their preferred activities for learning composition. It was found that the participants believed their compositional processes were something that they developed themselves and they wanted a more personal approach to learning. The findings have implications for both teachers of composition and their students

Combined scanning probe microscopy studies on self-assembled porphyrin monolayers

Contains fulltext : 112894.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, 13 september 2013Promotor : Speller, S.E. Co-promotores : Elemans, J.A.A.W., Hendriksen, B.L.M.209 p

STM of chemistry at the solid liquid interface

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Tuning the viscosity of halogen free bulk heterojunction inks for inkjet printed organic solar cells

For the solution processing of organic photovoltaics on an industrial scale, the exclusion of halogenated solvents is a necessity. However, the limited solubility of most semiconducting polymer/fullerene blends in non-halogenated solvents results in ink formulations with low viscosities which poses limitations to the use of roll-to-roll compatible deposition processes, such as inkjet printing. We propose to add polystyrene as a rheological modifier to increase the viscosity of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) non-halogenated inks. The printing and performance of P3HT/PCBM photoactive layer inks are characterized as a function of polystyrene concentration and three different molecular weights. Addition of 1 wt% polystyrene provided a near two-fold gain in viscosity, with the largest viscosity gains coming from the polymer with the highest molecular weight. However, this coincided with greater viscoelastic behavior, which reduced the jetting performance of the inks. Differences in solvent compatibility of the polystyrene/P3HT/PCBM ternary blend resulted in phase separation upon layer drying, whereby polystyrene segregated to the layer-air interface to form an isolated domain or network like topology. Nevertheless, a 1.7-fold increase in dynamic viscosity was obtained for devices with printed BHJ layers containing polystyrene at the expense of a 20% reduction in OPV performance. The improved viscosity and good printing behavior achieved with small additions of polystyrene demonstrates its potential to overcome the limited viscosity resulting from typical non-halogenated ink formulations for semiconducting polymers. These results offer a step forward to the industrialization of inkjet printing as an effective deposition technique for functional layers of organic electronics

Pharmacogenetics of anti-TNF treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

TNF-blocking strategies are widely used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Three anti-TNF agents are registered for use in RA: etanercept, infliximab and adalimumab. Although anti-TNF therapy is very effective in controlling disease activity and slowing down radiological damage, prolonged response is only seen in approximately 70% of the patients. The causes for nonresponse in the remaining patients have not yet been elucidated. Pharmacogenetic studies focusing on genes involved in RA etiology (and/or progression) and in the pharmacokinetics of TNF-blocking agents have identified markers associated with anti-TNF treatment outcome. In the future, more exhaustive, less hypothesis-driven search strategies are expected to discover additional markers. Identification of these markers might be viewed as the first step towards tailored TNF-blocking therapy for patients with RA. Nevertheless, replication and large prospective studies will be needed to demonstrate the validity of the identified genetic markers before implementation into daily clinical practice

The functional variant (Asp299gly) of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) influences TLR4-mediated cytokine production in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate functional consequences of the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) variant (Asp299Gly) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 28 patients with RA carrying or not carrying the TLR4 variant were incubated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and heat shock protein B8 (HSPB8). Concentrations of interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-alpha), and IL-10 were determined along with TLR4 and CD14 expression. RESULTS: TLR4 expression was similar in patients carrying or not carrying the variant. In contrast, both LPS and HSPB8 resulted in significantly lower secretion of IL-6, TNF-alpha, and IL-10 in those who carried the variant, whereas the frequency of CD14+ cells was higher in these individuals. CONCLUSION: TLR4 variant clearly reduces its potency to mediate signaling. Correction for CD14+ cells is necessary in comparable experiments

Failure analysis in ITO-free all-solution processed organic solar cells

In this paper we discuss a problem-solving methodology and present guidance for troubleshooting defects in ITO-free all-solution processed organic solar cells with an inverted cell architecture. A systematic approach for identifying the main causes of failures in devices is presented. Comprehensive analysis of the identified failure mechanisms allowed us to propose practical solutions for further avoiding and eliminating failures in all-solution processed organic solar cells. Implementation of the proposed solutions has significantly improved the yield and quality of all-solution processed organic solar cells

Axial ligand control over monolayer and bilayer formation of metal-salophens at the liquid-solid interface

Contains fulltext : 83337.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)3 p

Controlled templating of porphyrins by a molecular command layer

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Biomi

The organic photovoltaics field is maturing and reaching a technology readiness level where the focus is on developing large scale fabrication methods. In this light, fully inkjet printed organic solar cells were demonstrated. Inkjet printing allows direct patterning of all the layers, including the electrodes, offering full freedom of design without the use of masks or structuring by hardware. The semitransparent front and back electrodes consist of PEDOT:PSS and conductive Ag fingers, avoiding the use of ITO. The inkjet printing of six functional layer demonstrated minimal losses in performance as compared to the labscale standard, spin coated devices. All-inkjet printed large area (>1 cm2) organic solar cells with power conversion efficiency of 4.1% deposited from environmentally friendly solvents in an air atmosphere are demonstrated for the first time. Organic solar cells were fabricated using industrial scale (512 nozzles) printheads, compatible with R2R technology. To prove the great advantage of inkjet printing as a digital technology allowing freedom of forms and designs, large area organic solar cells with different artistic shapes were demonstrated. Reported results confirm that inkjet printing has high potential for the processing of OPV, allowing quick changes in design as well as the materials