Thermal-Induced Performance Decay of the State-of-the-Art Polymer: Non-Fullerene Solar Cells and the Method of Suppression.

Improving thermal stability is of great importance for the industrialization of polymer solar cells (PSC). In this paper, we systematically investigated the high-temperature thermal annealing effect on the device performance of the state-of-the-art polymer:non-fullerene (PM6:Y6) solar cells with an inverted structure. Results revealed that the overall performance decay (19% decrease) was mainly due to the fast open-circuit voltage (VOC, 10% decrease) and fill factor (FF, 10% decrease) decays whereas short circuit current (JSC) was relatively stable upon annealing at 150 °C (0.5% decrease). Pre-annealing on the ZnO/PM6:Y6 at 150 °C before the completion of cell fabrication resulted in a 1.7% performance decrease, while annealing on the ZnO/PM6:Y6/MoO3 films led to a 10.5% performance decay, indicating that the degradation at the PM6:Y6/MoO3 interface is the main reason for the overall performance decay. The increased ideality factor and reduced built-in potential confirmed by dark J - V curve analysis further confirmed the increased interfacial charge recombination after thermal annealing. The interaction of PM6:Y6 and MoO3 was proved by UV-Vis absorption and XPS measurements. Such deep chemical doping of PM6:Y6 led to unfavorable band alignment at the interface, which led to increased surface charge recombination and reduced built-in potential of the cells after thermal annealing. Inserting a thin C60 layer between the PM6:Y6 and MoO3 significantly improved the cells' thermal stability, and less than 2% decay was measured for the optimized cell with 3 nm C60.

The effects of sclerostin antibody plus parathyroid hormone (1-34) on bone formation in ovariectomized rats.

Previous studies have demonstrated the effects of sclerostin antibody (Scl-Ab) and parathyroid hormone (1-34, PTH) on healing in osteoporosis; however, reports about the combined effects of Scl-Ab plus PTH on osteoporosis are limited. This study was designed to investigate the impact of combined treatment with Scl-Ab and PTH on osteoporosis healing in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. After bilateral ovariectomy, 12 weeks were allowed to pass for the establishment of standard conditions for osteoporosis in animal models. The rats then randomly received a vehicle (control), Scl-Ab (25 mg/kg body weight, twice weekly), PTH (60 µg/kg, three times per week) or PTH plus Scl-Ab until death at 12 weeks. The blood and distal femurs of the rats were harvested for evaluation. The results of treatment for osteoporosis were evaluated by serum analysis, histology, microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) and biomechanical tests. Results from this study indicated that PTH + Scl-Ab had stronger effects on the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis than either of the monotherapies in OVX rats. The PTH + Scl-Ab produced the strongest effects on bone volume fraction (BV/TV), bone trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular number (Tb.N) and trabecular spacing (Tb.Sp), bone mineral density (BMD) and strength of distal femurs and increased the levels of procollagen type I N­terminal propeptide (PINP) and osteocalcin. In contrast, monotherapy with PTH or Scl-Ab showed no differences between treated groups in the assessment of the metaphysis of contralateral femurs by histology, serum, biomechanical tests and micro-CT. These results seem to indicate that Scl-Ab plus PTH has an additive effect on osteoporosis in OVX rats.

Effects of Adipose Plasma Transfusion Compared with Normal Plasma Transfusion on Adverse Transfusion Reactions, Important Functional Indicators, and Clinical Safety in Patients with Parenteral Nutrition: Based on a Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: Based on a retrospective cohort study, the study aims to investigate the effects of adipose plasma transfusion compared with normal plasma transfusion on adverse transfusion reactions, important functional indicators, and clinical safety in patients with parenteral nutrition (PN). Methods: One hundred and twenty inpatients who needed PN and plasma transfusion in Xianning Central Hospital from September 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, were enrolled as the actual application verification cases. All the patients in the group noticed the informed consent form, and the normal plasma transfusion was set as the control group (n = 40), and the fat plasma transfusion was set as the study group. Mild adipose plasma transfusion was adopted in study group ① and moderate adipose plasma transfusion was used in study group ②, 40 cases in each group. The blood routine tests, blood lipids, blood coagulation, liver function tests, and the incidence of adverse reactions of blood transfusion were compared. Results: The comparison results of platelet count, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit among the three groups are as follows: study group ②> study group ①> control group (P < 0.05).The levels of blood lipids in the three groups, triglyceride, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein, and low density lipoprotein were compared in group ②>group ①>control group (P < 0.05).The liver function tests indexes of the three groups were compared: ALT, AST, LDH: study ②study ①>control group. Regarding the incidence of adverse transfusion reactions, the incidence of adverse transfusion reactions in the study group was lower than in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Compared with normal plasma transfusion, the inpatients who need PN and plasma transfusion can effectively use the scrapped mild and moderate fatty plasma and reduce the plasma scrap rate. In the meantime, it has little effect on the function of the important indexes of the patients, and the incidence of adverse reactions of blood transfusion is low and the safety is high. Infusion of adipose plasma can also improve the effective individual and rational utilization of blood products. Trial registration: This trial is registered with chiCTR220005918.

Platelet-rich plasma inhibits Wnt/ß-catenin signaling in rabbit cartilage cells activated by IL-1ß.

OBJECTIVE: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been reported to alleviate degenerative pathological damage to joint cartilage. This study aimed to investigate the effect of PRP on Wnt/ß-catenin signaling in rabbit chondrocytes. METHODS: Using 3-month-old New Zealand white rabbits, PRP was prepared from venous blood, and chondrocytes were cultured from knee joint cartilage and identified by staining for type II collagen and proteoglycan. The effects of PRP on chondrocyte viability were measured. The chondrocytes were divided into 5 groups: control, IL-1ß, PRP (100-fold dilution), Dkk-1 (100ng/mL) and Dkk-1+PRP. The IL-1ß, PRP, Dkk-1 and Dkk-1+PRP groups were treated with interleukin (IL)-1ß (50µL, 10µg/mL) for24h. Chondrocyte morphology was observed by electron microscopy. Levels of carboxy terminal peptide (CTX-II) and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) in culture media were measured by ELISA. Wnt-1, ß-catenin and GSK-3ß mRNA and protein expression were determined by RT-PCR and western blot respectively. RESULTS: PRP enhanced chondrocyte proliferation. Chondrocytes in the IL-1ß group showed ultrastructural abnormalities that were less pronounced in the PRP, Dkk-1 and Dkk-1+PRP groups. CTX-II and COMP concentrations were higher in the IL-1ß group than in the control, PRP, Dkk-1 and Dkk-1+PRP groups (P<0.05). The IL-1ß group had higher mRNA and protein Wnt1 and ß-catenin levels and lower GSK-3ß levels than the control, PRP, Dkk-1 and Dkk-1+PRP groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: PRP may protect chondrocytes activated by IL-1ß via inhibiting Wnt/ß-catenin signaling.