Rapid and Facile Fabrication of Polyiodide Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using Ambient Air Drying

[Image: see text] Dye-sensitized solar cells are promising candidates for low-cost indoor power generation applications. However, they currently suffer from complex fabrication and stability issues arising from the liquid electrolyte. Consequently, the so-called zombie cell was developed, in which the liquid electrolyte is dried out to yield a solid through a pinhole after cell assembly. We report a method for faster, simpler, and potentially more reliable production of zombie cells through direct and rapid drying of the electrolyte on the working electrode prior to cell assembly, using an iodide–triiodide redox couple electrolyte as a basis. These “rapid-zombie” cells were fabricated with power conversion efficiencies reaching 5.0%, which was larger than the 4.5% achieved for equivalent “slow” zombie cells. On a large-area cell of 15.68 cm(2), over 2% efficiency was achieved at 0.2 suns. After 12 months of dark storage, the “rapid-zombie” cells were remarkably stable and actually showed a moderate increase in average efficiencies

Prevalência do câncer de endométrio em mulheres entre 45 e 79 anos com histórico de tabagismo e etilismo no município de Cascavel/PR

O câncer do corpo do útero ocupa a oitava posição do tipo de câncer mais frequente no Brasil, desconsiderando-se os tumores de pele não melanoma, e é o sexto câncer prevalente entre as mulheres no mundo. Dentre os tipos de câncer do corpo do útero, o que se destaca é o carcinoma endometrioide. Trata-se de um câncer que predomina na faixa etária de mulheres com idade superior a 55 anos e é mais raro em mulheres abaixo dos 45 anos. A detecção precoce aumenta as chances de cura, porém o diagnóstico precoce é difícil e não existe exame de rastreamento para mulheres assintomáticas. A maioria dos casos de câncer de endométrio não pode ser evitada, mas existem algumas maneiras de reduzir o risco de desenvolver a doença através do controle dos fatores de risco modificáveis, além de atentar-se aos sinais de alerta que auxiliam no diagnóstico precoce da doença, a qual possui chance de cura em 90% dos casos quando realizado com antecedência. Diante desse cenário, essa pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar a prevalência do câncer de endométrio em mulheres entre 45 e 79 anos de idade no município de Cascavel/PR com histórico de tabagismo e etilismo e compará-la à prevalência no Estado do Paraná, a fim de auxiliar na prevenção do desenvolvimento deste câncer através da mudança de hábitos de vida e dos fatores modificáveis, da promoção de saúde e do possível diagnóstico precoce

Prevalência de fatores de risco para o câncer de pâncreas na cidade de Cascavel/PR em comparação ao estado do Paraná entre os anos de 2010 a 2020

O câncer de pâncreas é considerado uma das neoplasias mais letais do mundo e essa característica é devido a doença ser assintomática e com manifestações clínicas evidentes apenas em estágios avançados. Objetivo: Avaliar a relação entre a prevalência dos fatores de risco com a manifestação neoplásica na cidade de Cascavel/PR e no estado do Paraná, com a finalidade de evidenciar a necessidade de mudança de hábitos para os fatores modificáveis e compreender a apresentação dessa doença. Métodos: Estudo descritivo e quantitativo utilizando dados presentes no tabulador dos registros hospitalares de câncer do Instituto Nacional do Câncer (INCA), em que foram analisados pacientes com diagnóstico de câncer de pâncreas na cidade de Cascavel/PR e no estado do Paraná entre 2010 a 2020. Resultados: Foram analisados 290 pacientes da cidade de Cascavel/PR e 1579 do Paraná, sendo mais comum na raça branca, a faixa etária mais acometida está entre 60 e 64 anos, mais frequente em homens e com maior prevalência em indivíduos tabagistas e etilistas. Conclusão: O câncer de pâncreas tem grande associação com fatores de risco não hereditários, portanto modificáveis, logo essas condições devem ser evitadas para a prevenção da doença ou rastreadas com a finalidade de diagnóstico precoce e melhor prognóstico ao paciente

Electrochemical Properties of Cu(II/I)-Based Redox Mediators for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Three Cu(II/I)-phenanthroline and Cu(II/I)-bipyridine redox mediators are studied on various electrodes and in variety of electrolyte solutions using cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy on symmetrical dummy cells. Graphene-based catalysts provide comparably high activity to PEDOT, and both catalysts outperform the activity of platinum. The charge-transfer kinetics and the diffusion rate significantly slowdown in the presence 4-tert-butylpyridine. This effect is specific only for Cu-mediators (is missing for Co-mediators), and is ascribed to a sensitivity of the coordination sphere of the Cu(II)-species to structural and substitutional changes. The 'Zombie Cells' made from symmetrical PEDOT/PEDOT devices exhibit enhanced charge-transfer rate and enhanced diffusion resistance. Electrochemically clean Cu(II)-bipyridine species are prepared, for the first time, by electrochemical oxidation of the parent Cu(I) complexes. Our preparative electrolysis brings numerous advantages over the standard chemical syntheses of the Cu(II)-bipyridine complexes. The superior performance of electrochemically grown clean Cu(II)-bipyridine complex is demonstrated on practical dye-sensitized solar cells. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Neutral organic redox pairs based on sterically hindered hydroquinone/benzoquinone derivatives for dye-sensitized solar cells

Substituted derivatives of hydroquinone/benzoquinone were studied as organic redox mediators in the electrolyte for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Thus, di-tert-butylhydroquinone (DTHQ), thymohydroquinone (ThymHQ) and phenylhydroquinone (PhHQ), were combined with their oxidized counterparts to form the pairs DTHQ/DTBQ, ThymHQ/ThymBQ, and PhHQ/PhBQ. In general, the characteristic parameters of the DSSCs with the substituted derivatives surpassed those of the DSSC with the unsubstituted hydroquinone/benzoquinone electrolyte. The short-circuit current (JSC) of the devices using DTHQ/DTBQ and ThymHQ/ThymBQ (13.61 mA cm−2 and 12.56 mA cm−2, respectively) are comparable to the JSC obtained for cobalt(II/III) tris(bipyridine) as a reference electrolyte (14.54 mA cm−2). However, parameters such as open-circuit voltage (VOC) and fill factor (FF) (547 mV and 0.48, respectively) are far from competitive. The best photovoltaic performance was obtained for the pair ThymHQ/ThymBQ using a triphenylamine (TPA)-based organic dye (LEG4) as sensitizer and a hybrid counter electrode with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and graphene. These experimental conditions give under 1 sun (98%) the highest efficiency (η = 3.19%); low-light intensities of 12.3% and 51.8% suns lead to efficiencies of 3.34% and 3.29%, respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) revealed that the main cause for loss in photocurrent is the low recombination resistance compared to Co(II/III) as reference electrolyte. Based on the EIS analysis, a down-shift of the conduction band of TiO2 was found for all assembled devices containing the organic redox mediators, which explains the low VOC values for these derivatives.Universidad de Costa Rica/[804-B5-271]7UCR/Costa RicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Básicas::Facultad de Ciencias::Escuela de QuímicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigación en Electroquímica y Energía Química (CELEQ)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigaciones en Productos Naturales (CIPRONA

A room-temperature-stable electride and its reactivity: Reductive benzene/pyridine couplings and solvent-free Birch reductions

In this work, we report the synthesis of a room-temperature-stable electride (RoSE) reagent, namely K+(LiHMDS)e− (1) (HMDS: 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazide), from accessible starting materials (potassium metal and LiHMDS) via mechanochemical ball milling at 20 mmol scale. Despite its amorphous nature, the presence of anionic electrons in 1, key diagnostic criteria for an electride, was confirmed by both experimental and computational studies. Therefore, by definition, 1 is an electride. Utilizing its anionic electrons, electride reagent 1 exhibited a versatile reactivity profile that includes (1) mediation of C–H activation and C–C coupling of benzene and pyridine and (2) mediation of solvent-free Birch reduction. This work proves the concept of facile mechanochemical synthesis of a room-temperature-stable electride, and it introduces electride 1 to the synthetic chemistry community as a versatile reagent

Further Insights into the Gut Microbiota of Cow’s Milk Allergic Infants: Analysis of Microbial Functionality and Its Correlation with Three Fecal Biomarkers

Cow’s milk allergy (CMA) is one of the most prevalent food allergies in children. Several studies have demonstrated that gut microbiota influences the acquisition of oral tolerance to food antigens at initial stages of life. Changes in the gut microbiota composition and/or functionality (i.e., dysbiosis) have been linked to inadequate immune system regulation and the emergence of pathologies. Moreover, omic sciences have become an essential tool for the analysis of the gut microbiota. On the other hand, the use of fecal biomarkers for the diagnosis of CMA has recently been reviewed, with fecal calprotectin, α-1 antitrypsin, and lactoferrin being the most relevant. This study aimed at evaluating functional changes in the gut microbiota in the feces of cow’s milk allergic infants (AI) compared to control infants (CI) by metagenomic shotgun sequencing and at correlating these findings with the levels of fecal biomarkers (α-1 antitrypsin, lactoferrin, and calprotectin) by an integrative approach. We have observed differences between AI and CI groups in terms of fecal protein levels and metagenomic analysis. Our findings suggest that AI have altered glycerophospholipid metabolism as well as higher levels of lactoferrin and calprotectin that could be explained by their allergic status.This research was funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI17/01087 and PI20/01366) and Fundación Sociedad Española de Alergia e Inmunología Clínica (FSEAIC_2016). It was co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund “Investing in your future” for the thematic network and co-operative research centers ARADyAL RD16/0006/0015 and RD16/0006/0026. T.B-T is supported by FPI-CEU predoctoral fellowship. D.B. acknowledges financial support from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI19/00044)

Dye-sensitized solar cells for efficient power generation under ambient lighting

Solar cells that operate efficiently under indoor lighting are of great practical interest as they can serve as electric power sources for portable electronics and devices for wireless sensor networks or the Internet of Things. Here, we demonstrate a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) that achieves very high power-conversion efficiencies (PCEs) under ambient light conditions. Our photosystem combines two judiciously designed sensitizers, coded D35 and XY1, with the copper complex Cu(II/I)(tmby) as a redox shuttle (tmby, 4,4′,6,6′-tetramethyl-2,2′-bipyridine), and features a high open-circuit photovoltage of 1.1 V. The DSC achieves an external quantum efficiency for photocurrent generation that exceeds 90% across the whole visible domain from 400 to 650 nm, and achieves power outputs of 15.6 and 88.5 mW cm–2 at 200 and 1,000 lux, respectively, under illumination from a model Osram 930 warm-white fluorescent light tube. This translates into a PCE of 28.9%

The Genome and Development-Dependent Transcriptomes of Pyronema confluens: A Window into Fungal Evolution

Fungi are a large group of eukaryotes found in nearly all ecosystems. More than 250 fungal genomes have already been sequenced, greatly improving our understanding of fungal evolution, physiology, and development. However, for the Pezizomycetes, an early-diverging lineage of filamentous ascomycetes, there is so far only one genome available, namely that of the black truffle, Tuber melanosporum, a mycorrhizal species with unusual subterranean fruiting bodies. To help close the sequence gap among basal filamentous ascomycetes, and to allow conclusions about the evolution of fungal development, we sequenced the genome and assayed transcriptomes during development of Pyronema confluens, a saprobic Pezizomycete with a typical apothecium as fruiting body. With a size of 50 Mb and similar to 13,400 protein-coding genes, the genome is more characteristic of higher filamentous ascomycetes than the large, repeat-rich truffle genome; however, some typical features are different in the P. confluens lineage, e.g. the genomic environment of the mating type genes that is conserved in higher filamentous ascomycetes, but only partly conserved in P. confluens. On the other hand, P. confluens has a full complement of fungal photoreceptors, and expression studies indicate that light perception might be similar to distantly related ascomycetes and, thus, represent a basic feature of filamentous ascomycetes. Analysis of spliced RNA-seq sequence reads allowed the detection of natural antisense transcripts for 281 genes. The P. confluens genome contains an unusually high number of predicted orphan genes, many of which are upregulated during sexual development, consistent with the idea of rapid evolution of sex-associated genes. Comparative transcriptomics identified the transcription factor gene pro44 that is upregulated during development in P. confluens and the Sordariomycete Sordaria macrospora. The P. confluens pro44 gene (PCON_06721) was used to complement the S. macrospora pro44 deletion mutant, showing functional conservation of this developmental regulator

Variations of the Candidate SEZ6L2 Gene on Chromosome 16p11.2 in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorders and in Human Populations

Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of severe childhood neurodevelopmental disorders with still unknown etiology. One of the most frequently reported associations is the presence of recurrent de novo or inherited microdeletions and microduplications on chromosome 16p11.2. The analysis of rare variations of 8 candidate genes among the 27 genes located in this region suggested SEZ6L2 as a compelling candidate. Methodology/Principal Findings: We further explored the role of SEZ6L2 variations by screening its coding part in a group of 452 individuals, including 170 patients with ASD and 282 individuals from different ethnic backgrounds of the Human Genome Diversity Panel (HGDP), complementing the previously reported screening. We detected 7 previously unidentified non-synonymous variations of SEZ6L2 in ASD patients. We also identified 6 non-synonymous variations present only in HGDP. When we merged our results with the previously published, no enrichment of non-synonymous variation in SEZ6L2 was observed in the ASD group compared with controls. Conclusions/Significance: Our results provide an extensive ascertainment of the genetic variability of SEZ6L2 in human populations and do not support a major role for SEZ6L2 sequence variations in the susceptibility to ASD