Improving the Conductivity of Amide-Based Small Molecules through Enhanced Molecular Packing and Their Application as Hole Transport Mediators in Perovskite Solar Cells.

Organic-inorganic hybrid halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted substantial attention from the photovoltaic research community, with the power conversion efficiency (PCE) already exceeding 26%. Current state-of-the-art devices rely on Spiro-OMeTAD as the hole-transporting material (HTM); however, Spiro-OMeTAD is costly due to its complicated synthesis and expensive product purification, while its low conductivity ultimately limits the achievable device efficiency. In this work, we build upon our recently introduced family of low-cost amide-based small molecules and introduce a molecule (termed TPABT) that results in high conductivity values (∼10 S cm upon addition of standard ionic additives), outperforming our previous amide-based material (EDOT-Amide-TPA, ∼10 S cm) while only costing an estimated $5/g.

A randomized, controlled trial on the effect of anesthesia on chronic pain after total knee arthroplasty.

The study sought to evaluate the influence of anesthesia on chronic pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). : This was a single-center, randomized controlled study, with patients receiving a spinal anesthetic (SP) alone or a general anesthetic (GA) with femoral block, with follow-up at 3 and at 6 months. The primary outcome was the WOMAC score at 6 months.

Frequency and spectrum of glucokinase mutations in an adult Maltese population.

Aim: To investigate the frequency and spectrum of glucokinase (GCK) mutations in a cohort of adults from an island population having a high prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM).

Methods: A single-centre cohort study was conducted, including 145 non-obese adults of Maltese-Caucasian ethnicity with impaired fasting glycaemia (IFG) or non-autoimmune diabetes diagnosed before the age of 40 years. Bidirectional sequencing of the GCK coding regions was performed.

Screening for monogenic subtypes of gestational diabetes in a high prevalence island population - A whole exome sequencing study.

Aims: The reported frequency of monogenic defects of beta cell function in gestational diabetes (GDM) varies extensively. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency and molecular spectrum of variants in genes associated with monogenic/atypical diabetes in non-obese females of Maltese ethnicity with GDM.

Methods: 50 non-obese females who met the International Association of the Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) criteria for diagnosis of GDM and with a first-degree relative with non-autoimmune diabetes were included in this study.

Application of H and C NMR Fingerprinting as a Tool for the Authentication of Maltese Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

The application of H and C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in conjunction with chemometric methods was applied for the discrimination and authentication of Maltese extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs). A total of 65 extra virgin olive oil samples, consisting of 30 Maltese and 35 foreign samples, were collected and analysed over four harvest seasons between 2013 and 2016. A preliminary examination of H NMR spectra using unsupervised principle component analysis (PCA) models revealed no significant clustering reflecting the geographical origin.

Amateur Music Theatre Singers' Perceptions of their Current Singing Voice Function.

Purpose: The primary aim of this study was to investigate amateur music theatre singers (MTS)' perceptions of their current singing voice function according to evaluation of ability to sing easily (EASE) scores while involved in a musical theatre production, to determine if scores were influenced by demographic or voice-related factors and to compare EASE scores of amateur MTS and previously published professional MTS.

Method: Amateur singers were recruited through the Townsville Choral Society during the preproduction of Les Misérables. A total of 51 amateur MTS completed an online questionnaire including the EASE scale and a supplementary demographic questionnaire.

SEIS: Insight's Seismic Experiment for Internal Structure of Mars.

Unlabelled: By the end of 2018, 42 years after the landing of the two Viking seismometers on Mars, InSight will deploy onto Mars' surface the SEIS (eismic xperiment for nternal tructure) instrument; a six-axes seismometer equipped with both a long-period three-axes Very Broad Band (VBB) instrument and a three-axes short-period (SP) instrument. These six sensors will cover a broad range of the seismic bandwidth, from 0.01 Hz to 50 Hz, with possible extension to longer periods.

First trimester termination of pregnancy: methods in comparison between two European university hospitals.

Purpose Of Investigation: To compare methods, epidemiological features, and legislations of first trimester termination of pregnancy in two European Union University Hospital: Szeged, Hungary, (UHS) and Rome, Italy (UHR).

Materials And Methods: The study included 195 women in UHS and 197 women in UHR undergoing a termination of pregnancy, The method used in UHR was electric vacuum aspiration, while in UHS it is chosen according to the patients' features.

Results: Mean gestational week at the time of interruption was 8.

Hereditary haemorragic teleangectasia and pregnancy: case report.

We report an uncommon case of a 38-years-old pregnant woman affected by HHT (Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia; Osler-Weber-Rendu syndrome) who underwent to a caesarean section (CS) without any complication. The patient at 36th weeks+1 day pregnancy referred to the Emergency Obstetric Unit due to a intercostals pain on left side. On third day after admission the woman started travailing and physicians decided to perform the CS.

Intracranial hypotension and PRES: case report.

We report a case of a woman presenting, 7 days after epidural analgesia for a caesarean section, to the emergency room for a worsening of the headache and tonico-clonic seizures. MRI showed alterations suggestive of the presence of intracranial hypotension (IH) as well as evidence of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES). She was treated with a blood patch which leads to the prompt regression of the clinical symptoms and follow-up MRI, after 15 days, showed complete resolution of radiological alterations.