ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) application in tympanoplasty procedures for patients with chronic otitis media (COM), assessing its influence on graft survival and healing time. METHODS: In this prospective interventional study, conducted between January 2022 and June 2023, 80 patients diagnosed with COM were enrolled and divided into two groups. Group A underwent standard tympanic membrane repair using temporal fascia grafts (TFG), while Group B received TFG with adjunctive PRF application. The patients were observed and assessed over a 20-week postoperative period. RESULTS: The study showed a significant enhancement in graft survival rates in Group B (TFG+PRF), with only one residual perforation compared to seven in Group A (TFG alone) at 20 weeks (p=0.02534). Furthermore, Group B patients experienced faster healing, achieving 97.5% graft integrity at 10 and 20 weeks, in contrast to Group A's 87.5%. CONCLUSION: The application of PRF in tympanoplasty procedures for COM notably enhances graft stability and expedites the healing process. These findings suggest that PRF can be a valuable adjunct in otolaryngological surgeries, offering potential improvements in patient outcomes and surgical efficacy.
ABSTRACT
Natural dyes have been widely employed in the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). DSSCs are favored for their cost-effective, and simple fabrication process relies on metal-based and organic dyes. The choice of dyes greatly affects the performance of DSSCs. DSSCs have found a lot of applications in indoor, solar power gadgets with reasonable efficiency up to 13%. Nonetheless, despite advances in DSSC technology, the complex photophysics and excited state dynamics associated with natural dyes employed in DSSCs remain elusive and have not been adequately investigated. This information gap emphasizes the need for more study and analysis into the behavior of these dyes, since understanding their underlying principles might lead to major improvements in DSSC performance and efficiency. In this work, we have investigated the fundamental characteristics and excited-state carrier dynamics of natural dye curcumin using ultrafast transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy technique. The curcumin dye shows delay time-dependent positive and negative signals in the TA spectra, which are related to excited state absorption and stimulated emission. We also found that hydrogen bonding and polarity effect of solvent significantly influence the carrier dynamics of curcumin. Ultrafast lifetime component indicates that hydrogen-bond rearrangements are involved in the kinetics of the relaxation process of the S1 state of curcumin photo-sensitizer.
Subject(s)
Curcumin , Solar Energy , Coloring Agents/chemistry , Spectrum Analysis , SolventsABSTRACT
Lead-free Cs2AgBiBr6 double perovskites have recently emerged as a possible alternative to lead-based halide perovskites for photovoltaic and optoelectronic applications. Significant research efforts have been devoted toward device engineering to enhance the performance of Cs2AgBiBr6 double-perovskite-based photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices; however, less attention has been paid to address their intrinsic photophysical properties. In this work, we have shown that the small polaron formation under photoexcitation and polaron localization limits the carrier dynamics in Cs2AgBiBr6 double halide perovskites. Furthermore, temperature-dependent ac conductivity measurement reveals that single polaron hopping is the dominant conduction mechanism. Ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy reveals that a deformed lattice under photoexcitation leads to the formation of small polarons which act as self-trapped states (STSs) and lead to the ultrafast trapping of charge carriers. Our findings provide an in-depth understanding of intrinsic limitations of Cs2AgBiBr6 perovskites, which can be applicable for other bismuth-based semiconductors.
ABSTRACT
Mice with SHP1 proteins, which have a single amino acid substitution from tyrosine-208 residue to asparagine (hereafter Ptpn6spin mice), develop an autoinflammatory disease with inflamed footpads. Genetic crosses to study CD47 function in Ptpn6spin mice bred Ptpn6spin × Cd47-/- mice that were not born at the expected Mendelian ratio. Ptpn6spin bone marrow cells, when transferred into lethally irradiated Cd47-deficient mice, caused marked weight loss and subsequent death. At a cellular level, Ptpn6-deficient neutrophils promoted weight loss and death of the lethally irradiated Cd47-/- recipients. We posited that leakage of gut microbiota promotes morbidity and mortality in Cd47-/- mice receiving Ptpn6spin cells. Colonic cell death and gut leakage were substantially increased in the diseased Cd47-/- mice. Last, IL-1 blockade using anakinra rescued the morbidity and mortality observed in the diseased Cd47-/- mice. These data together demonstrate a protective role for CD47 in tempering pathogenic neutrophils in the Ptpn6spin mice.
