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Single-crystalline Sb2S3 rods were successfully used to fabricate high-performance photodetector after surface cleaning and defect suppression through post-annealing in H2/Ar atmosphere.

Inverted planar perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with poly(N,N′-bis(4-butylphenyl)-N,N′-bis(phenyl)benzidine) (PTPD) layer as hole-transporting layer (HTL) exhibit high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) over 20%. However, the influence of PTPD’s molecular weight (Mw) on the performance of PSCs has not been reported yet. Herein, we employ PTPD with various molecular weights as HTL to fabricate highly efficient inverted planar PSCs. Our results show that PTPD with 75 kDa possesses superior conductivity, which can quicken the charge carrier extraction from perovskite to HTL. In addition, the MAPbI3 perovskite film atop the 75-kDa PTPD is smoother with higher crystallinity and lower defect density. As a result, inverted planar PSCs with 75-kDa PTPD as HTL deliver a highest PCE of 19.24%. Our work provides a beneficial reference for future preparation of stable and highly efficient inverted PSCs with polymer HTL.

Wide-band gap (WBG) mixed-halide perovskites have drawn much attention because of their excellent optoelectronic properties and the potential to be deployed in tandem solar cells. Nevertheless, the bromine incorporation inevitably leads to photoinduced phase segregation in WBG mixed-halide perovskites. Herein, potassium is used to effectively suppress photoinduced phase segregation, which is visualized with confocal photoluminescence microscopy imaging. Strikingly, the potassium passivation not only inhibits the formation of the narrow-band gap subphase but also enhances the crystallinity of the WBG mixed-halide perovskite. In addition, the potassium-passivated WBG perovskite exhibits lower defect density, longer charge carrier lifetime, and better photostability. As a result, the optimized KI (2 mol %)-passivated WBG perovskite solar cells (PSCs) deliver a champion power conversion efficiency of 18.3% with negligible hysteresis. They maintain 98% of their initial efficiency after 400 h under 100 mW·cm

Wavelength-selective perovskite photodetectors (PDs) have many applications in optoelectronic fields, such as machine vision, imaging and full-color displays. However, the instability of organo–inorganic hybrid perovskite materials severely limits the commercialization of perovskite-based PDs. In this work, more stable all-inorganic perovskites, CsPbBr(3−x)Clx (x = 0, 1, 2, 3) microplatelets (MPs), were used to fabricate Schottky PDs with a simple vertical structure of ITO/MP/Au. The optimized CsPbBr3 MP Schottky PDs exhibit a rapid response speed (75 μs) and a very low dark current (2 pA) at zero bias. Meanwhile, the device shows a high on/off ratio (>106), a large specific detectivity (>1012 Jones) and a linear dynamic range (LDR = 137 dB) with excellent thermal and long-term stability. Furthermore, a tunable spectral response from the ultraviolet to visible range is also demonstrated. These results provide a simple avenue to realize self-driven and spectrally tunable all-inorganic perovskite Schottky PDs with good stability.

Nickel oxide (NiOx) as a hole-transporting layer (HTL) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has been studied extensively in recent years. However, unlike the solution-processed NiOx films, magnetron sputtered NiOx exhibits relatively low conductivity and imperfect band alignment with perovskites, severely limiting the device performance of PSCs. In this study, a synergistically combined strategy consisting of triple interface treatments – including post-annealing, O2-plasma, and potassium chloride treatments – is employed to modulate the optoelectronic properties of the sputtered NiOx films. Through this approach, we successfully obtained NiOx films with increased carrier density and conductivity, better energy level alignment with the perovskite absorber layer, reduced interface trap density, and improved interfacial charge extraction. PSCs using this modified sputtered NiOx as the HTL deliver a highest stabilized efficiency of 18.7%. Our result offers an alternative method to manipulate sputtered NiOx thin film properties and thereby sheds light on a manufacturing pathway to perovskite solar cells featuring sputtered NiOx HTL.

Wide-bandgap (∼1.7–1.8 eV) perovskite solar cells have attracted substantial research interest in recent years due to their great potential to fabricate efficient tandem solar cells via combining with a lower bandgap (1.1–1.3 eV) absorber (e.g., Si, copper indium gallium diselenide, or low-bandgap perovskite). However, wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells usually suffer from large open circuit voltage (Voc) deficits caused by small grain sizes and photoinduced phase segregation. Here, we demonstrate that in addition to large grain sizes and passivated grain boundaries, controlling interface properties is critical for achieving high Voc's in the inverted wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells. We adopt guanidinium bromide solution to tune the effective doping and electronic properties of the surface layer of perovskite thin films, leading to the formation of a graded perovskite homojunction. The enhanced electric field at the perovskite homojunction is revealed by Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements. This advance enables an increase in the Voc of the inverted perovskite solar cells from an initial 1.12 V to 1.24 V. With the optimization of the device fabrication process, the champion inverted wide-bandgap cell delivers a power conversion efficiency of 18.19% and sustains more than 72% of its initial efficiency after continuous illumination for 70 h without encapsulation. Additionally, a semitransparent device with an indium tin oxide back contact retains more than 88% of its initial efficiency after 100 h maximum power point tracking.

It would be apt to say that one of the greatest accomplishments in modern medicine has been the development of vaccines against COVID-19, which had paralyzed the entire world for more than a year. Pfizer and BioNTech codeveloped the first COVID-19 vaccine that was granted emergency-use authorization or conditional approval in several regions globally. This article is an attempt to go 'behind-the-scenes' of this development process and highlight key factors that allowed us to move with this unprecedented speed, while adhering to normal vaccine-development requirements to generate the information the regulatory authorities needed to assess the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine to prevent an infectious disease, including quality and manufacturing standards. This is also a story of how Pfizer and BioNTech leveraged our combined skill sets and experience to respond to the global health crisis to progress this program swiftly while ensuring the compliance with our high-quality standards and keeping patient safety at the forefront. We will also highlight multiple other factors that were instrumental in our success.

Among the hypomyelinating leukodystrophies, Pelizaeus–Merzbacher disease (PMD) is a representative disorder. The disease is caused by different types of PLP1 mutations, among which PLP1 duplication accounts for ~ 70% of the mutations. Previous studies have shown that PLP1 duplications lead to PLP1 retention in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER); in parallel, recent studies have demonstrated that PLP1 duplication can also lead to mitochondrial dysfunction. As such, the respective roles and interactions of the ER and mitochondria in the pathogenesis of PLP1 duplication are not clear. In both PLP1 patients’ and healthy fibroblasts, we measured mitochondrial respiration with a Seahorse XF Extracellular Analyzer and examined the interactions between the ER and mitochondria with super-resolution microscopy (spinning-disc pinhole-based structured illumination microscopy, SD-SIM). For the first time, we demonstrated that PLP1 duplication mutants had closer ER-mitochondrion interfaces mediated through structural and morphological changes in both the ER and mitochondria-associated membranes (MAMs). These changes in both the ER and mitochondria then led to mitochondrial dysfunction, as reported previously. This work highlights the roles of MAMs in bridging PLP1 expression in the ER and pathogenic dysfunction in mitochondria, providing novel insight into the pathogenicity of mitochondrial dysfunction resulting from PLP1 duplication. These findings suggest that interactions between the ER and mitochondria may underlie pathogenic mechanisms of hypomyelinating leukodystrophies diseases at the organelle level.

In nature, the combination of composition, structure, and shape determines the matter's functional performance to a large extent. Inspired by which, two electrospun Janus nanofiber formulations were created using side-by-side electrospinning in this work. Tamoxifen citrate (TAM) was used as a model drug and ethyl cellulose (EC) and polyvinylpyrrolidone K60 (PVP) as the polymer carrier matrices. The fibers have linear cylindrical morphologies and distinct Janus structures by scanning electron microscopy. One side of the fibers took a round shape, while the other was crescent-shaped. The drug was present in both polymer matrices in the form of amorphous solid dispersions, owing to strong intermolecular interactions between drug and polymer. In vitro dissolution tests demonstrated that both sets of fibers could provide biphasic drug release due to the difference in solubility of PVP and EC. The different shape of TAM-EC and TAM-PVP side of the Janus structure resulted in a considerable variation in the drug release profiles. The Janus structure with crescent TAM-PVP side and round TAM-EC side gave a more rapid burst release in the first phase of release, and slower sustained release in the second phase. This work thus reports a new strategy for systematically developing advanced functional nanomaterials based on both shape- and structure-performance relationships.

Background Wallerian degeneration(WD) occurs in the descending pyramidal tract(DPT) after cerebral infarction commonly, but studies of its degree evaluation, influencing factors and effects on nervous function are still limited. Objectives The purpose of this study was to describe these findings and estimate their clinical significance. Methods In total, 133 patients confirmed acute cerebral infarction and restricted diffusion in the DPT of the cerebral peduncle by MRI scans. These cases were retrospectively reviewed. We describe their clinical characteristics and analyze influence factors of WD, including the timespan from symptom onset to MRI and TOAST classification. Their NIHSS scores at admission and first 7 days NIHSS improvement rate after admission were also analyzed. Results These patients were divided into three groups by timespan ≤7 days(n = 45),7–14 days(n = 70) and >14 days(n = 18). The mean WD degree (%)of these three groups was 44.41 ± 22.51,52.35 ± 22.61and 44.31 ± 19.35,respectively(p = 0.122).According to the TOAST classification, the mean WD degree(%) of the cardioembolism group(n = 28, 62.80 ± 25.12) was significantly different from both the large-artery atherosclerosis group(n = 73,45.08 ± 20.03,p = 0.000) and the small-vessel occlusion group(n = 23,39.68 ± 16.95,p = 0.000). The mean NIHSS score upon admission of the WD degree≤50% group(n = 82,8.17 ± 5.87) was different from that of the >50% group(n = 51,11.31 ± 7.00)(p = 0.006). However, the mean 7 days NIHSS improvement rate(%) of the WD degree≤50% group(n = 79,11.83 ± 23.76)and >50% group(n = 50,13.40 ± 27.88) was not significantly different(p = 0.733). Conclusions Early WD in ischemic stroke patients has a correlation with serious baseline functional defects. Therefore, we should give close attention to imaging change, especially in those with cardioembolism .

Significance Asparagine-linked (N-linked) protein glycosylation—the covalent attachment of complex sugars to the nitrogen atom in asparagine side chains—is the most widespread posttranslational modification to proteins and also the most complex. N-glycosylation affects a significant number of cellular proteins and can have profound effects on their most important attributes such as biological activity, chemical solubility, folding and stability, immunogenicity, and serum half-life. Accordingly, the strategic installation of glycans at naïve sites has become an attractive means for endowing proteins with advantageous biological and/or biophysical properties. Here, we describe a glycoprotein engineering strategy that enables systematic investigation of the structural and functional consequences of glycan installation at every position along a protein backbone and provides a new route to bespoke glycoproteins., As a common protein modification, asparagine-linked (N-linked) glycosylation has the capacity to greatly influence the biological and biophysical properties of proteins. However, the routine use of glycosylation as a strategy for engineering proteins with advantageous properties is limited by our inability to construct and screen large collections of glycoproteins for cataloguing the consequences of glycan installation. To address this challenge, we describe a combinatorial strategy termed shotgun scanning glycomutagenesis in which DNA libraries encoding all possible glycosylation site variants of a given protein are constructed and subsequently expressed in glycosylation-competent bacteria, thereby enabling rapid determination of glycosylatable sites in the protein. The resulting neoglycoproteins can be readily subjected to available high-throughput assays, making it possible to systematically investigate the structural and functional consequences of glycan conjugation along a protein backbone. The utility of this approach was demonstrated with three different acceptor proteins, namely bacterial immunity protein Im7, bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A, and human anti-HER2 single-chain Fv antibody, all of which were found to tolerate N-glycan attachment at a large number of positions and with relatively high efficiency. The stability and activity of many glycovariants was measurably altered by N-linked glycans in a manner that critically depended on the precise location of the modification. Structural models suggested that affinity was improved by creating novel interfacial contacts with a glycan at the periphery of a protein–protein interface. Importantly, we anticipate that our glycomutagenesis workflow should provide access to unexplored regions of glycoprotein structural space and to custom-made neoglycoproteins with desirable properties.

We describe a facile and robust genetic selection for isolating full-length IgG antibodies from combinatorial libraries expressed in the cytoplasm of the genetically engineered Escherichia coli strain, SHuffle. The method is based on the transport of a bifunctional substrate comprised of an antigen fused to chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, which allows positive selection of bacterial cells co-expressing cytoplasmic IgGs called ‘cyclonals’ that specifically capture the chimeric antigen and sequester the antibiotic resistance marker in the cytoplasm. The selective power of this approach was demonstrated by facile isolation of novel complementarity-determining regions for a cyclonal that specifically recognized the basic-region leucine zipper domain of the yeast transcriptional activator protein Gcn4.

The electron transport layer (ETL) is a critical component in planar single junction or tandem perovskite solar cells (PSCs), dominating the separation and electron extraction of charge carriers. Herein, we introduce a facile route to synthesize a SnO2 quantum dot (QD) colloidal solution at room temperature using an alcohol-based solvent with the additive of deionized-water. A superior homogeneous ETL is obtained by spin coating of the QD colloidal solution with post-deposition annealing. Compared to the ETL prepared with the SnCl2·2H2O anhydrous alcohol solution, the champion power conversion efficiency of PSCs deposited on the SnO2 QD based ETL is raised to 20.1% from 16.5%. The better performance is attributed to the excellent optical and electronic properties of the SnO2 QD based ETL. Experimental analyses reveal that the SnO2 QD based ETL enhances electron extraction and suppresses charge recombination, leading to improvement of solar cell performance. The appropriate concentration of the SnO2 QD based solution is explored and the appropriate ratio of anhydrous alcohol to deionized water of the SnO2 colloidal solution is obtained. Our results show the great potential of low temperature synthesized SnO2 QD films for application as ETLs or interconnecting buffer layers for future highly efficient and reproducible low-temperature processed tandem PSCs.

We demonstrate two octamethyl-substituted phthalocyanines, HMe2Pc and ZnMe2Pc, as dopant-free hole-transport layers for planar pervoskite solar cells. HMe2Pc illustrated a very similar HOMO energy level and a slightly smaller band gap compared with that of ZnMe2Pc, resulting in perovskite photovoltaic devices with very close open circuit voltage (VOC) values based on different phthalocyanine hole transporting materials. Varying the central metals also leads to the HMe2Pc film exhibiting higher carrier mobility, better film coverage, and stronger surface hydrophobicity than the ZnMe2Pc film, which is consistent with higher short circuit current density (JSC) and fill factor (FF) values, and better long-term film stability for HMe2Pc-based devices. When employed as hole-transport layers by vacuum deposition, the HMe2Pc-based devices showed the highest photo conversion efficiency (PCE) of up to 15.59%, which is slightly higher than the 14.88% PCE for ZnMe2Pc-based devices. These properties make the easily-synthesized and highly stable octamethyl-substituted phthalocyanines promising candidates as hole-transport materials in perovskite solar cells.

In recent years, hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites have emerged as promising photosensing materials for next-generation solution-processed photodetectors, achieving high responsivity, fast speed, and large linear dynamic range. In particular, perovskite photoresistors possess low-cost fabrication and easy integration with low dimensional structures. However, a relatively large dark current is still limiting the further development of perovskite photoresistors. Herein, we introduce full-inorganic perovskite polycrystalline microwires for high-performance photodetection, in order to enhance the device stability. Furthermore, dark current and noise can be effectively suppressed by tuning the contacts. All-inorganic CsPbBr3 microwires with a number of nanocrystals on the wire surface are prepared by a simple, low-cost, two-step, solution-processed method at room temperature. Photodetectors based on this CsPbBr3 polycrystalline single microwire are assembled on indium tin oxide electrodes and demonstrate a ...

Solar cells with organic–inorganic perovskites as light absorbers are now delivering more than 22% power conversion efficiencies and are comparable to their inorganic counterparts on a laboratory scale. However, their intrinsic instability hinders the commercialization of this promising photovoltaic technique. Herein we introduced the bivalent alkyldiammonium cation ethylenediamine (EDA2+) into methylammonium (MA)/formamidinium (FA) lead iodide (MA0.7FA0.3PbI3) to improve its stability, forming a triple cation perovskite (MA0.7FA0.3)1−2xEDAxPbI3 as a light absorber layer for planar perovskite solar cells. After delicately tuning the stoichiometric ratio of EDA2+ in the cation, PSCs based on the (MA0.7FA0.3)0.97EDA0.015PbI3 (x = 1.5%) perovskite yielded a highest power conversion efficiency of 20.01% with negligible hysteresis. More importantly, the devices showed greatly enhanced stability compared to the EDA-free ones. The unencapsulated perovskite solar cells with EDA incorporation retained 96% of their initial efficiencies after 25 days of storage in an ambient atmosphere.

Although the perovskite solar cells (PSCs) based on organic hole transport materials (HTMs) have demonstrated excellent photovoltaic performance, there are still some obstacles that limiting their future commercialization, one of which is the device stability. Herein, we first report that depositing a (200) orientated PbS thin film upon organic HTMs as buffer layer can significantly enhance the stability and improve the performance of PSCs. The superior hole extraction efficiency of spiro-OMeTAD/PbS bilayer can balance the charge transfer and the hydrophobic nature of PbS could avoid the permeation of moisture. As a result, the PSCs with PbS buffer layer exhibited a better photovoltaic performance (a champion power conversion efficiency of 19.58%) with respect to the reference cells (18.79%), and maintained almost 100% of its initial PCE after 1000 h stored in ambient air. Furthermore, when suffer from some more severe conditions, the device with PbS retained 56% of its initial PCE after 96 h annealing at 85 °C, while only 25% for the reference cells. Our results provide a simple method to avoid the weakness of organic HTMs, and suggest that PbS thin film could be an alternative buffer layer material in PSCs to simultaneously improve the device stability and photovoltaic performance.

Solution-processed hole transporting materials (HTMs) that are dopant-free show promise for use in low-cost, high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The highest-efficiency PSCs use organic HTMs, many of which have low mobilities and therefore require doping, which lowers the device stability. Additionally, these materials are not easily scaled because they often require complicated synthesis. Two new HTMs (IDT-TPA and IDTT-TPA) were synthesized, which contained either an extended fused-ring indacenodithiophene (IDT) or indacenodithienothiophene (IDTT) core and strong electron-donating methoxytriphenylamine (TPA) groups as the end-capping units. The extended conjugation in the backbone of IDTT-TPA resulted in stronger π-π interactions (3.321 A) and a higher hole mobility of 6.46×10-4 cm2 V-1 s-1 when compared with that of IDT-TPA (9.53×10-5 cm2 V-1 s-1 ). A dopant-free, planar PSC that contained IDTT-TPA was fabricated and exhibited a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.7 %. This cell exhibited a higher PCE and less hysteresis than devices that contained IDT-TPA.

Perovskite solar cells have developed rapidly in recent years as the third generation solar cells. In spite of the great improvement achieved, there still exist some issues such as undesired hysteresis and indispensable high temperature process. In this work, bulk heterojunction perovskite-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester solar cells have been prepared to diminish hysteresis using a facile two step spin-coating method. Furthermore, high quality tin oxide films are fabricated using pulse laser deposition technique at room temperature without any annealing procedure. The as fabricated tin oxide film is successfully applied in bulk heterojunction perovskite solar cells as a hole blocking layer. Bulk heterojunction devices based on room temperature tin oxide exhibit almost hysteresis-free characteristics with power conversion efficiency of 17.29% and 14.0% on rigid and flexible substrates, respectively.

Nanostructures and their related structure-performance relationships for “efficacious, safe and convenient” drug delivery are playing a more and more important role in the fast development of nanopharmaceutics. In this study, a core-shell fiber based nano depot (ND) is prepared for achieving a high drug loading and meanwhile ensuring a zero-order drug sustained release profile. With cellulose acetate (CA) as a filament-forming polymeric matrix and ferulic acid (FA) as a model drug, a triaxial electrospinning was implemented to generate the ND. An elaborate strategy was exploited to ensure a continuous, robust and effective preparation. The strategy comprised a solvent mixture as the outer fluid, a mixed solution containing FA and CA with a high CA concentration as the spinnable middle fluid, and a pure drug solution as the inner liquid for loading enough FA in the NDs as much as possible. TEM and SEM demonstrated the core-shell structure of NDs. The NDs had a drug loading of 71.5 ± 4.6%. The in vitro dissolution tests demonstrated that the loaded FA was able to release through a zero-order kinetics of Q (FA released percentage) to t (release time): Q = 12.03 + 1.89 t (R = 0.9928) during the 48 h. Only 3.6% of the loading FA was released during the late tailing-off period. Three different diffusion types about the drug sustained release mechanism are suggested.

Objective Epilepsy is a common complication in glioma patients after undergoing brain tumor surgery combined with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Whether antiepileptic drug prophylaxis could be used in these patients remains an open question. The purpose of this study was to produce a model for predicting the risk of epilepsy occurrence in such patients. Methods The clinicopathologic data of glioma patients after tumor treatment were reviewed in this study. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to analyze the correlation between the clinicopathologic data and the risk of epilepsy occurrence. A nomogram was built according to the multivariate logistic regression model results. Results A total of 219 patients with gliomas were reviewed. Univariate analyses revealed that age, WHO glioma classification, CD34, EGFR, Ki67, MGMT, P53 and VIM were significantly associated with the risk of epilepsy occurrence. Multivariate analyses revealed that age, WHO glioma classification, CD34, EGFR, MGMT, and VIM were predictors of risk of epilepsy occurrence. A nomogram of the risk of epilepsy occurrence was built based on statistically significant variables from the multivariate logistic regression analysis. The c-index of the nomogram was 0.755 (95 % confidence interval (CI), 0.742–0.769). Significance This nomogram model provides reliable information about the risk of epilepsy occurrence for oncologists and neurological physicians.

The standard of measurement and valuation is the main basis for making the bill of quantities and compiling the bidding control price and bidding quotation. In recent years, prefabricated concrete building, as a typical structural form of prefabricated building, has developed rapidly. However, in the actual operation of measuring and pricing of prefabricated concrete construction projects, the existing list system has many shortcomings. Based on this, it is necessary to optimize the measurement specifications of prefabricated concrete buildings in China. At first, this paper USES the principle of the work breakdown structure (WBS) specifications for the measurement of the current prefabricated concrete building structure is analyzed, secondly in jinan city project as an example, to find out its branch, the branch of engineering and engineering subdivisional work on decomposition structure of the preliminary optimization, using WBS to metrological specification for the perfection of prefabricated concrete construction measurement valuation in China to provide the basis.

We report a simple and effective interface engineering method for achieving highly efficient planar perovskite solar cells (PSCs) employing SnO2 electron selective layers (ESLs). Herein, a 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) self-assembled monolayer (SAM) was used to modify the SnO2 ESL/perovskite layer interface. This APTES SAM demonstrates multiple functions: (1) it can increase the surface energy and enhance the affinity of the SnO2 ESL, which induce the formation of high quality perovskite films with a better morphology and enhanced crystallinity. (2) Its terminal functional groups form dipoles on the SnO2 surface, leading to a decreased work function of SnO2 and enlarged built-in potential of SnO2/perovskite heterojunctions. (3) The terminal groups can passivate the trap states at the perovskite surface via hydrogen bonding. (4) The thin insulating layer at the interface can hinder electron back transfer and reduce the recombination process at the interface effectively. With these desirable properties, the best-performing cell employing a APTES SAM modified-SnO2 ESL achieved a PCE over 18% and a steady-state efficiency of 17.54%. Impressively, to the best of our knowledge, the obtained VOC of 1.16 V is the highest value reported for the CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3) system. Our results suggest that the ESL/perovskite interface engineering with a APTES SAM is a promising method for fabricating efficient and hysteresis-less PSCs.

Recently, inverted planar perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with a p–i–n configuration have drawn tremendous interest due to their high efficiency and reduced hysteresis. It has been demonstrated that p–i–n planar PSCs employing organic hole transport materials can obtain excellent photovoltaic performance, but their high cost and poor stability have restrained their further development. Herein, we employ Li-bis-(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide treated NiOx (Li-treated NiOx) as an excellent and robust hole transport layer (HTL) for fabricating highly efficient and stable PSCs. Compared to the pristine NiOx, the Li-treated NiOx exhibits enhanced electrical conductivity and better band alignment, enabling fast and efficient hole transport as well as exciton separation. The PSC with a Li-treated NiOx HTL shows a significantly improved fill factor and efficiency (from 0.75, 14.46% to 0.79, 17.09%) as well as less hysteresis with satisfactory long-term stability. Furthermore, we obtain a champion efficiency of 18.03% via graded heterojunction engineering. Therefore, our results suggest Li-treated NiOx film is an effective and promising hole transport material for efficient PSCs.

Recently, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as the most promising photovoltaic devices owing to their rapidly increased power conversion efficiency (PCE). Small molecule metallophthalocyanine compounds, as thermally and chemically stable materials with high hole mobilities, are considered to be potential candidates for stable hole-selective layers (HSLs) in PSCs. In this study, a novel metallophthalocyanine derivative with a heavy palladium (Pd) atom and octamethyl substituents (PdMe2Pc) was designed and synthesized. The introduction of the heavy Pd atom endows the material with a long carrier lifetime, and without dramatically reducing its mobility. As a result, PdMe2Pc exhibits a long diffusion length (26.00 nm), which is beneficial for restraining charge recombination. Planar PSCs that employed PdMe2Pc as a HSL displayed a high PCE of 16.28% and good long-term stability. This result indicates that PdMe2Pc could be a promising HSL for PSCs with high efficiencies and high stabilities.

A low-cost spiro[3.3]heptane-2,6-dispirofluorene (SDF) based hole transporting material termed SDF-OMeTAD has been designed and synthesized via a two-step reaction, representing a considerable simplification with respect to that of the well-known spiro-OMeTAD. The SDF-OMeTAD was exploited in lead halide planar perovskite solar cells using low-temperature solution-processed SnO2 as the electron transporting layer, delivering a competitive power conversion efficiency of 13.01% with an open-circuit voltage of 1.10 V under 100 mW cm−2 AM 1.5G solar illumination. The facile synthesis approach of SDF-OMeTAD from commercially available starting materials will facilitate SDF-based molecules to be further exploited in thin film organic–inorganic perovskite solar cells and can be optimized to further enhance power conversion efficiency.

Resilience is usually considered as the ability of network fault tolerance. To improve the resilience of MANET, fault tolerance strategies such as routing protocols are usually employed which will impact resilience of MANET. For resilience measurement and fault tolerance strategies’ efficiency evaluation, the impact of fault tolerance strategies deserves a detailed study. However, the general MANET resilience measurement methods do not consider the fault tolerance strategies as individual resilience influence factors, let alone reflecting the interplay among strategies that deployed on different network layers. Thus, it results in a limitation on efficiency assessment of fault tolerance strategies. In this paper, it models fault tolerance strategies for MANET resilience measurement with considering strategies as individual resilience influence factors. Firstly, through analyzing the features of fault tolerance strategies that deployed on physical and logical layers of network, we built a hierarchical network model to describe the resilience impact of strategies. Then, based on this network model, we proposed fault tolerance strategies model to measure resilience of MANET. Particularly, the model can well support the interplay study among different strategies through contrasting the quantitative value defined by strategy model. At last, a case study was given for verification and analysis.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) may offer huge potential in photovoltaic conversion, yet their practical applications face one major obstacle: their low stability, or quick degradation of their initial efficiencies. Here, a new design scheme is presented to enhance the PSC stability by using low-temperature hydrothermally grown hierarchical nano-SnO2 electron transport layers (ETLs). The ETL contains a thin compact SnO2 layer underneath a mesoporous layer of SnO2 nanosheets. The mesoporous layer plays multiple roles of enhancing photon collection, preventing moisture penetration and improving the long-term stability. Through such simple approaches, PSCs with power conversion efficiencies of ≈13% can be readily obtained, with the highest efficiency to be 16.17%. A prototypical PSC preserves 90% of its initial efficiency even after storage in air at room temperature for 130 d without encapsulation. This study demonstrates that hierarchical SnO2 is a potential ETL for fabricating low-cost and efficient PSCs with long-term stability.

The present study was to analyze the mechanism of cytomembrane ATP-sensitive K+ channels (KATP) in the neurovascular unit treatment of ischemic stroke in the recovery period. A total of 24 healthy adult male Wistar rats of 5-8 weeks age, weighing 160-200 g were randomly divided into the control (sham-operation group), model, KATP blocker and KATP opener groups (n=6 rats per group). Nylon cerebral artery occlusion was conducted using nylon monofilament coated with Poly-L-lysine, which was used to produce a cerebral infarction model. After feeding normally for 3 days, 5-hydroxydecanoate (40 mg/Kg), and diazoxide (40 mg/Kg) were injected to the abdominal cavity in the blocker, and opener groups, respectively. The control received an equivalent normal saline that was injected into the sham-operation and model groups. The animals were mutilated and samples were collected after 3 days. RT-PCR was used to detect the expression levels of the three subunits of KATP, i.e., kir6.1, and sulfonylurea receptor (SUR) 1 and SUR2 mRNA, as well as to calculate infarct size in tetrazolium chloride staining. The expression level of mRNA in the opener group were significantly higher, followed by the model and blocker groups, with the control group being the lowest (P

Tin oxide (SnO2) as an electron transport layer (ETL) has made impressive achievements in planar-structure heterojunction perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the improvement of the SnO2 quality, connected with its trap density, electrical conductivity and band energy alignment, is still worth concerning. The quality of the SnO2 film especially from wet coating techniques is quite sensitive to the environment conditions in the preparation process thus leading to poor repeatability. High repeatability of every functional layer fabrications is one of the basic requirements toward commercialization for PSCs. Herein, we add hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into the SnO2 precursor solution (denoted as H2O2–SnO2) to enable the quality improvement of ETL. The resultant H2O2–SnO2 film exhibits less trap density, improved electrical conductivity, outstanding film fabrication repeatability and better energy level alignment, leading to significantly higher charge carrier extraction and reduced device hysteresis effect. By employing H2O2–SnO2 ETL, PSCs with excellent repeatability and performance uniformity deliver a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 22.15% with negligible hysteresis, and show impressive long-term stability. This research paves a new way for the further performance enhancement of planar PSCs and the higher quality modified SnO2 may find applications in other opto-electronic devices.

To investigate the clinical character, diagnosis and treatment of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy accompanying myasthenia gravis so as to improve the understanding of such diseases.A case of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy combined with myasthenia gravis were analyzed retrospectively with review of the literature.This man was presented with chronic progressive sensory symptoms, flaccid tetraparesis, areflexia and protein-cell dissociation of cerebrospinal fluid. Nerve conduction study was indicative of demyelinating neuropathy. He was suspected as chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and treated with high-dose glucocorticoids. However, his condition worsened. Four months later, he was admitted and was diagnosed as combination of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and myasthenia gravis. Good clinical results were observed after he was treated with pyridostigmine bromide, prednisone and mycophenolate mofetil.This case warns clinicians to be aware of these two diseases presenting in the same patient, and the possible implications on treatment choices. A common immunological abnormality might exist in this rare association, but it still remains unknown.

Prior to assessing the temporal characteristics of the rainfall-induced landslides in Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), it is fundamental to establish a detailed landslide inventory map. This study documented rainfall data from 2000 to 2015 period and mapped rainfall distribution in the CLP on the basis of yearly, monthly, and the daily precipitation data from 57 rain gauging stations. Geo-statistical analysis and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques combined with information on geological disaster within the region were used to study the temporal characteristics and trend variations of rainfall and geological disasters distribution in the region. The results indicated that a positive relationship existed between geological disaster and the average annual rainfall, with zonality in the loess gullies, hills (Mao), and ridges (Liang); Based on the field investigations, the main factors affecting loess landslide distribution and development, such as geomorphic conditions, vegetation cover, soil erosion modulus, rainfall, and climate were considered. The lag effect of landside disasters after raining is particularly obvious over the time. These results provide a useful reference for the study of the mechanism of water-induced loess landslides.

Indium oxide (In2O3) as a promising n-type semiconductor material has been widely employed in optoelectronic applications. In this work, we applied low-temperature solution-processed In2O3 nanocrystalline film as an electron selective layer (ESL) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) for the first time. By taking advantages of good optical and electrical properties of In2O3 such as high mobility, wide band gap, and high transmittance, we obtained In2O3-based PSCs with a good efficiency exceeding 13% after optimizing the concentration of the precursor solution and the annealing temperature. Furthermore, to enhance the performance of the In2O3-based PSCs, a phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) layer was introduced to modify the surface of the In2O3 film. The PCBM film could fill up the pinholes or cracks along In2O3 grain boundaries to passivate the defects and make the ESL extremely compact and uniform, which is conducive to suppressing the charge recombination. As a result, the efficiency of the In2O3-based PSC was improved to 14.83% accompanied with V(OC), J(SC), and FF being 1.08 V, 20.06 mA cm(-2), and 0.685, respectively.

Efficient planar antimony sulfide (Sb2S3) heterojunction solar cells have been made using chemical bath deposited (CBD) Sb2S3 as the absorber, low-temperature solution-processed tin oxide (SnO2) as the electron conductor and poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as the hole conductor. A solar conversion efficiency of 2.8% was obtained at 1 sun illumination using a planar device consisting of F-doped SnO2 substrate/SnO2/CBD-Sb2S3/P3HT/Au, whereas the solar cells based on a titanium dioxide (TiO2) electron conductor exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 1.9%. Compared with conventional Sb2S3 sensitized solar cells, the high-temperature processed mesoscopic TiO2 scaffold is no longer needed. More importantly, a low-temperature solution-processed SnO2 layer was introduced for electron transportation to substitute the high-temperature sintered dense blocking TiO2 layer. Our planar solar cells not only have simple geometry with fewer steps to fabricate but also show enhanced performance. The higher efficiency of planar Sb2S3 solar cell devices based on a SnO2 electron conductor is attributed to their high transparency, uniform surface, efficient electron transport properties of SnO2, suitable energy band alignment, and reduced recombination at the interface of SnO2/Sb2S3.

SummaryMany receptor-mediated endocytic processes are mediated by constitutive budding of clathrin-coated pits (CCPs) at spatially randomized sites before slowly pinching off from the plasma membrane (60–100 s). In contrast, clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) coupled with regulated exocytosis in excitable cells occurs at peri-exocytic sites shortly after vesicle fusion (∼10 s). The molecular mechanism underlying this spatiotemporal coupling remains elusive. We show that coupled endocytosis makes use of pre-formed CCPs, which hop to nascent fusion sites nearby following vesicle exocytosis. A dynamic cortical microtubular network, anchored at the cell surface by the cytoplasmic linker-associated protein on microtubules and the LL5β/ELKS complex on the plasma membrane, provides the track for CCP hopping. Local diacylglycerol gradients generated upon exocytosis guide the direction of hopping. Overall, the CCP-cytoskeleton-lipid interaction demonstrated here mediates exocytosis-coupled fast recycling of both plasma membrane and vesicular proteins, and it is required for the sustained exocytosis during repetitive stimulations.

Specialized junctional sites that connect the plasma membrane (PM) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) play critical roles in controlling lipid metabolism and Ca2+ signaling1–4. Store operated Ca2+ entry mediated by dynamic STIM1-ORAI1 coupling represents a classical molecular event occurring at ER-PM junctions, but the protein composition and how previously-unrecognized protein regulators facilitate this process remain ill-defined. Using a combination of spatially-restricted biotin-labelling in situ coupled with mass spectrometry5, 6 and a secondary screen based on bimolecular fluorescence complementation7, we mapped the proteome of intact ER-PM junctions in living cells without disrupting their architectural integrity. Our approaches lead to the discovery of an ER-resident multi-transmembrane protein that we call STIMATE (STIM-activating enhancer, encoded by TMEM110) as a positive regulator of Ca2+ influx in vertebrates. STIMATE physically interacts with STIM1 to promote STIM1 conformational switch. Genetic depletion of STIMATE substantially reduces STIM1 puncta formation at ER-PM junctions and suppresses the Ca2+-NFAT signaling. Our findings enable further genetic studies to elucidate the function of STIMATE in normal physiology and disease, and set the stage to uncover more uncharted functions of hitherto underexplored ER-PM junctions.

The carrier concentration of the electron-selective layer (ESL) and hole-selective layer can significantly affect the performance of organic-inorganic lead halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, a facile yet effective two-step method, i.e., room-temperature colloidal synthesis and low-temperature removal of additive (thiourea), to control the carrier concentration of SnO

Asparagine-linked (N-linked) protein glycosylation is one of the most abundant types of posttranslational modification, occurring in all domains of life. The central enzyme in N-linked glycosylation is the oligosaccharyltransferase (OST), which catalyzes the covalent attachment of preassembled glycans to specific asparagine residues in target proteins. Whereas in higher eukaryotes the OST is comprised of eight different membrane proteins, of which the catalytic subunit is STT3, in kinetoplastids and prokaryotes the OST is a monomeric enzyme bearing homology to STT3. Given their relative simplicity, these single-subunit OSTs (ssOSTs) have emerged as important targets for mechanistic dissection of poorly understood aspects of N-glycosylation and at the same time hold great potential for the biosynthesis of custom glycoproteins. To take advantage of this utility, this chapter describes a multipronged approach for studying and engineering ssOSTs that integrates in vivo screening technology with in vitro characterization methods, thereby creating a versatile and readily adaptable pipeline for virtually any ssOST of interest.