Band offsets and point-defect charges of the aluminum and hafnium oxides in contact with the Cu(In,Ga)Sechalcopyrite.

Surface passivation of CuInSe(CIS) and related Cu(In,Ga)Se(CIGS) chalcopyrite materials by depositing selected dielectric layers has been a major research activity aiming to reduce interface recombination and increase the electrical efficiency of chalcopyrite-based thin-film solar cells. The present study reports calculations based on density-functional theory andthermodynamics that examine the origin of field-effect passivation from alumina and hafnia two wide-gap, predominantly ionic insulators that have exhibited promising passivation qualities in silicon-based microelectronics. The source of fixed charges within the bulk lattices of both oxides was studied by determining the thermodynamically most favorable charge states of their native defects within the admissible ranges of the metal and oxygen chemical potentials.

Cytokine induced 3-D organotypic psoriasis skin model demonstrates distinct roles for NF-κB and JAK pathways in disease pathophysiology.

Psoriasis vulgaris is an inflammatory skin disease that affects 2%-3% of the population worldwide. One of the major challenges in discovering novel therapies is the poor translatability of animal models to human disease. Therefore, it is imperative to develop human preclinical models of psoriasis that are amenable to pharmacological intervention.

Optimization of decalcification techniques for histologic examination of the rat maxillary and mandibular incisors for toxicity studies.

The objective of this study was to provide optimized processing for examination of rat incisors in nonclinical toxicity studies that enables analysis using immunohistochemistry (IHC). Rat maxillas and mandibles were decalcified in Immunocal, a formic acid decalcifier, and Decal Stat, a hydrochloric acid decalcifier, to evaluate tissue quality when with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain and an IHC. Following necropsy of 10 to 13-week-old male Sprague Dawley rats, tissues were collected, trimmed, fixed in neutral buffered formalin (NBF), and placed into the corresponding decalcifying solution.

Positron lifetimes of bare and hydrogenated zirconium vacancies in cubic yttria-stabilized zirconia: an ab initio study.

Recent studies by positron-annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) in single-crystal and nanostructured yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) revealed extensive positron trapping at vacancy-type point defects and other structural imperfections. The present work reports first principles calculations of formation energies and positron lifetimes of Zr vacancies in 10.3 mol% cubic YSZ.

Electronic structure and migration of interstitial hydrogen in the rutile phase of TiO.

The formation and migration energies of interstitial hydrogen in rutile TiO are obtained from first principles calculations. The computational approach was based on density functional theory with a semilocal generalised-gradient approximation functional, supplemented with an on-site Hubbard term to account for correlation among the Ti 3d electrons. Charge-transition levels are calculated and compared to previous theoretical studies.