Tunable charge transport using supramolecular self-assembly of nanostructured crystalline block copolymers.

Electronically functionalized block copolymers, combining covalently linked p-type and n-type blocks, show switching behavior of charge transport in organic field effect transistors (OFETs). The electronically active subunits self-assemble into continuous microdomains in a nanoscale regime, thereby forming percolation channels for holes or electrons or both depending on the composition and processing conditions. Here, we establish a charge transport-morphology relation for donor-acceptor block copolymers with two crystalline blocks.

In situ electrochemical monitoring of selective etching in ordered mesoporous block-copolymer templates.

We present a simple in situ electrochemical probe for the selective etching of the PLA component of thin film poly(4-fluorostyrene)-b-poly(D,L-lactide) (PFS-b-PLA) mesoporous block copolymer templates with a range of highly ordered microphase morphologies. Etching rates between 0.6 and 0.

Determining the contribution of epidermal cell shape to petal wettability using isogenic Antirrhinum lines.

The petal epidermis acts not only as a barrier to the outside world but also as a point of interaction between the flower and potential pollinators. The presence of conical petal epidermal cells has previously been shown to influence the attractiveness of the flower to pollinating insects. Using Antirrhinum isogenic lines differing only in the presence of a single epidermal structure, conical cells, we were able to investigate how the structure of the epidermis influences petal wettability by measuring the surface contact angle of water drops.

Nonequilibrium behavior of thin polymer films.

The rheological behavior of 100-nm-thick polystyrene films cast from various solvents was examined using an electric field to weakly perturb the free surface of the polymer melt. The effective viscosity and residual stresses of the as-spun films are seen to strongly depend on the properties of the casting solvent and the solvent quality. Both effects are explained in terms of the coil dimension at the solvent-polymer composition at which the film vitrifies.

Static and dynamic expression of life history traits in the Northern Fulmar ().

Understanding the static and dynamic expression of life history traits is a prerequisite for the development of a causal theory of the evolution of aging and of life histories. We analyzed the statics and dynamics of reproduction and survival in a wild population of the Northern Fulmar, (Procellaridae). Survival rate is most influenced by year as compared to age and cohort.

Aging of thin polymer films cast from a near-theta solvent.

We have examined the aging behavior of spin-cast thin polymer films as a function of their processing history. Films prepared from solutions close to the Θ temperature were aged for varying times at room temperature, followed by a dewetting experiment above the glass transition temperature of the polymer. The characteristic aging time varied strongly with the quality of the solvent, which is attributed to distorted chain conformations in the as-cast films.

Metastable underwater superhydrophobicity.

Superhydrophobicity is generally considered to be a thermodynamically stable wetting state. The stability of the plastron (the thin air film separating the substrate from the water in the superhydrophobic state) was studied in underwater experiments. The plastron exhibited a rapid decay after a well defined onset time, which was found to be dependent on the immersion depth.

Surface-directed spinodal decomposition in poly[3-hexylthiophene] and C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester blends.

Demixed blends of poly[3-hexylthiophene] (P3HT) and C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) are widely used in photovoltaic diodes (PV) and show excellent quantum efficiency and charge collection properties. We find the empirically optimized literature process conditions give rise to demixing during solvent (chlorobenzene) evaporation by spinodal decomposition. Ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) results are consistent with the formation of 1-2 nm thick surface layers on both interfaces, which trigger the formation of surface-directed waves emanating from both film surfaces.

Microbiological and SYBR green real-time PCR detection of major Fusarium head blight pathogens on wheat ears.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by several Fusarium species is one of the most serious diseases affecting wheat throughout the world. The efficiency of microbiological assays and real-time PCRto quantify major FHB pathogens in wheat ears after inoculation with F. graminearum, F.

Chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometer for the in situ measurement of methyl hydrogen peroxide.

A new approach for measuring gas-phase methyl hydrogen peroxide [(MHP) CH(3)OOH] utilizing chemical ionization mass spectrometry is presented. Tandem mass spectrometry is used to avoid mass interferences that hindered previous attempts to measure atmospheric CH(3)OOH with CF(3)O(-) clustering chemistry. CH(3)OOH has been successfully measured in situ using this technique during both airborne and ground-based campaigns.

[Clinical facets of hereditary angioedema among Swiss patients].

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare, autosomal dominant disease due to functional deficiency of C1-esterase inhibitor (C1-INH). In this observational study anamnestic, clinical and treatment data from forty patients were retrospectively analysed. Thirty nine of the patients suffered from type I of HAE and one patient from type II.

Enhanced photocatalytic properties in well-ordered mesoporous WO3.

We used polyisoprene-block-ethyleneoxide copolymers as structure-directing agents to synthesise well-ordered and highly-crystalline mesoporous WO(3) architectures that possess improved photocatalytic properties due to enhanced dye-adsorption in absence of diffusion limitation.

Dynamic heterogeneity and life histories.

Biodemography is increasingly focused on the large and persistent differences between individuals within populations in fitness components (age at death, reproductive success) and fitness-related components (health, biomarkers) in humans and other species. To study such variation we propose the use of dynamic models of observable phenotypes of individuals. Phenotypic change in turn determines variation among individuals in their fitness components over the life course.

Randomized phase III trial of 2nd line gemcitabine and paclitaxel chemotherapy in patients with advanced bladder cancer: short-term versus prolonged treatment [German Association of Urological Oncology (AUO) trial AB 20/99].

Background: The second-line chemotherapeutic treatment for metastatic urothelial cancer (UC) after failure of cisplatin-based first-line therapy needs to be improved. Based on encouraging phase II data of gemcitabine and paclitaxel (Taxol) (GP), this trial was designed to compare a short-term (arm A) versus a prolonged (arm B) second-line combination chemotherapy of GP.

Patients And Methods: Of 102 randomized patients, 96 were eligible for analysis.

Intraoperative assessment of kidney allograft perfusion by laser-assisted indocyanine green fluorescence videography.

Background: Kidney allograft function crucially depends on the quality of organ perfusion. Duplex sonography, however, frequently reveals hypoperfused segments that remained undetectable to visual inspection intraoperatively. To date, no imaging system supplementing the surgeon's experience has achieved clinical acceptance.

Templating efficiency of naked DNA.

Template-directed synthesis of complementary strands is pivotal for life. Nature employs polymerases for this reaction, leaving the ability of DNA itself to direct the incorporation of individual nucleotides at the end of a growing primer difficult to assess. Using 64 sequences, we now find that any of the four nucleobases, in combination with any neighboring residue, support enzyme-free primer extension when primer and mononucleotide are sufficiently reactive, with >or=93% primer extension for all sequences.

Function of blue iridescence in tropical understorey plants.

The blue colouration seen in the leaves of Selaginella willdenowii is shown to be iridescent. Transmission electron microscopy studies confirm the presence of a layered lamellar structure of the upper cuticle of iridescent leaves. Modelling of these multi-layer structures suggests that they are responsible for the blue iridescence, confirming the link between the observed lamellae and the recorded optical properties.

Mimicking the colourful wing scale structure of the Papilio blumei butterfly.

The brightest and most vivid colours in nature arise from the interaction of light with surfaces that exhibit periodic structure on the micro- and nanoscale. In the wings of butterflies, for example, a combination of multilayer interference, optical gratings, photonic crystals and other optical structures gives rise to complex colour mixing. Although the physics of structural colours is well understood, it remains a challenge to create artificial replicas of natural photonic structures.

Dye-sensitized solar cell based on a three-dimensional photonic crystal.

We present a material assembly route for the manufacture of dye-sensitized solar cells, coupling a high-surface mesoporous layer to a three-dimensional photonic crystal (PC). Material synthesis aided by self-assembly on two length scales provided electrical and pore connectivity at the mesoporous and the microporous level. This construct allows effective dye sensitization, electrolyte infiltration, and charge collection from both the mesoporous and the PC layers, opening up additional parameter space for effective light management by harvesting PC-induced resonances.

Rapid electrohydrodynamic lithography using low-viscosity polymers.

This study explores a number of low-viscosity glass-forming polymers for their suitability as high-speed materials in electrohydrodynamic (EHD) lithography. The use of low-viscosity polymer films significantly reduces the patterning time (to below 10 s) compared to earlier approaches, without compromising the high fidelity of the replicated structures. The rapid pace of this process requires a method to monitor the completion of EHD pattern formation.

Stretch-tuneable dielectric mirrors and optical microcavities.

We demonstrate how tuneable Distributed Bragg Reflectors (DBRs) and resonant micro-cavities can be built by a scalable layer assembly of the transparent utility rubbers polydimethylsiloxane and polystyrene-polyisoprene. Stretching the devices by more than 60% leads to an affine contraction of the layer thicknesses thereby tuning both DBR and cavity modes across the entire visible spectrum. Such rapidly- and reversibly- stretch-tuneable cavities can be used in tuneable micro-lasers and for quantitative optical strain sensing applications.

Formation of nanopatterned polymer blends in photovoltaic devices.

In this paper, we demonstrate a double nanoimprinting process that allows the formation of nanostructured polymer heterojunctions of composition and morphology that can be selected independently. We fabricated photovoltaic (PV) devices with extremely high densities (10(14)/mm(2)) of interpenetrating nanoscale columnar features in the active polymer blend layer. The smallest feature sizes are as small as 25 nm on a 50 nm pitch, which results in a spacing of heterojunctions at or below the exciton diffusion length.

Dynamic heterogeneity and life history variability in the kittiwake.

1. Understanding the evolution of life histories requires an assessment of the process that generates variation in life histories. Within-population heterogeneity of life histories can be dynamically generated by stochastic variation of reproduction and survival or be generated by individual differences that are fixed at birth.

Soft-etch mesoporous hole-conducting block copolymer templates.

We present a mesoporous hole-conducting polymer film resulting from spontaneous block copolymer self-assembly based on a simple spin-coating protocol. A diblock copolymer consisting of a triphenylamine side group polymer and a poly(d,l-lactide) block (PSTPA-b-PLA) is shown to microphase separate to form ordered 13 nm cylindrical PLA microdomains embedded in the semiconducting PSTPA matrix. Partially ordered and film-spanning PLA domains could be identified in films immediately after spin coating from toluene solutions on conducting substrates.

Treatment of inclusion body myositis: is low-dose intravenous immunoglobulin the solution?

Inclusion body myositis (IBM), the most common inflammatory myopathy in the elderly, is often resistant to various forms of therapy. Placebo-controlled treatment trials with high dose intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) have shown disease amelioration in some but not all patients. Here, we present the informative case of a 70-year-old woman with diagnosed inclusion body myositis that showed progressive muscle weakness without treatment and following immuno-suppressive treatment with corticosteroids and azathioprine.