Decreased surface defects and non-radiative recombination via the passivation of the halide perovskite film by 2-thiophenecarboxylic acid in triple-cation perovskite solar cells.

Organic-inorganic lead halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) attract great research interest due to their significant device performance and optoelectronic properties. However, reducing charge recombination and efficiency loss due to surface defects of the perovskite layer are still big issues to overcome for PSCs. Herein, we have employed a simple molecule, 2-thiophenecarboxylic acid (2TiCOOH), via post-treatment to passivate the uncoordinated Pb2+ on the perovskite film surface and improve the stability at the perovskite/Spiro-OMeTAD interface. The spectral results illustrate that the 2TiCOOH passivated devices exhibit higher carrier lifetime, charge extraction, and minimized defect induced recombination. Also, solar cells with 2TiCOOH show better charge collection, improved JSC, FF, and outstanding power conversion efficiency (PCE). In addition, 2TiCOOH passivated solar cells show tremendously stable performance output with less than 1% PCE drop after 100 days. This work provides a facile surface passivation strategy for fabricating highly efficient, low cost, and stable perovskite solar cells, which can be used for large scale technology and commercialization.

Rubrene single crystal solar cells and the effect of crystallinity on interfacial recombination.

Single crystal studies provide a better understanding of the basic properties of organic photovoltaic devices. Therefore, in this work, rubrene single crystals with a thickness of 250 nm to 1000 nm were used to produce an inverted bilayer organic solar cell. Subsequently, polycrystalline rubrene (orthorhombic, triclinic) and amorphous bilayer solar cells of the same thickness as single crystals were studied to make comparisons across platforms. To investigate how single crystal, polycrystalline (triclinic-orthorhombic) and amorphous forms alter the charge carrier recombination mechanism at the rubrene/PCBM interface, light intensity measurements were carried out. The light intensity dependency of the JSC, VOC and FF parameters in organic solar cells with different forms of rubrene was determined. Monomolecular (Shockley Read Hall) recombination is observed in devices employing amorphous and polycrystalline rubrene in addition to bimolecular recombination, whereas the single crystal device is weakly affected by trap assisted SRH recombination due to reduced trap states at the donor acceptor interface. To date, the proposed work is the only systematic study examining transport and interface recombination mechanisms in organic solar cells produced by different structure forms of rubrene.

A Facile Approach to Produce Activated Carbon from Waste Textiles via Self-Purging Microwave Pyrolysis and FeCl3 Activation for Electromagnetic Shielding Applications.

This study aims to convert composite textile structures composed of nonwoven and woven fabrics produced from cotton-jute wastes into activated carbon textile structures and investigate the possibilities of using them for electromagnetic shielding applications. To this end, the novel contribution of this study is that it shows that directly carbonized nonwoven textile via self-purging microwave pyrolysis can provide Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) shielding without any processing, including cleaning. Textile carbonization is generally achieved with conventional heating methods, using inert gas and long processing times. In the present study, nonwoven fabric from cotton-jute waste was converted into an activated carbon textile structure in a shorter time via microwaves without inert gas. Due to its polar structure, FeCl3 has been used as a microwave absorbent, providing homogeneous heating in the microwave and acting as an activating agent to serve dual purposes in the carbonization process. The maximum surface area (789.9 m2/g) was obtained for 5% FeCl3. The carbonized composite textile structure has a maximum of 39.4 dB at 1 GHz of EMI shielding effectiveness for 10% FeCl3, which corresponds to an excellent grade for general use and a moderate grade for professional use, exceeding the acceptable range for industrial and commercial applications of 20 dB, according to FTTS-FA-003.

Comparison of Fibroscan, Shear Wave Elastography, and Shear Wave Dispersion Measurements in Evaluating Fibrosis and Necroinflammation in Patients Who Underwent Liver Biopsy.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to predict these stages of hepatic fibrosis and necroinflammation using measurements from two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE), transient elastography (Fibroscan, TE), and shear wave dispersion (SWD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospectively designed study, chronic liver patients with nonspecific etiology whose biopsy was performed for up to 1 week were included. Two-dimensional SWE, SWD, and TE measurements were performed. The METAVIR and F-ISHAK classification was used for histopathological evaluation. RESULTS: Two-dimensional SWE and TE were considered significant for detecting hepatic fibrosis. In distinguishing ≥F2, for 2D-SWE, area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) was 0.86 (confidence interval [CI], 0.75-0.96) for the cutoff value of 8.05 kPa ( P = 0.003); for TE, AUROC was 0.79 (CI, 0.65-0.94) for the cutoff value of 10.4 kPa ( P < 0.001). No significance was found for TE in distinguishing ≥F3 ( P = 0.132). However, for 2D-SWE, a cutoff value of 10.45 kPa ( P < 0.001), with AUROC = 0.87 (CI, 0.78-0.97) was determined for ≥F3. Shear wave dispersion was able to determine the presence of necroinflammation ( P = 0.016) and a cutoff value of 15.25 (meter/second)/kiloHertz ([m/s]/kHz) ( P = 0.006) and AUROC of 0.71 (CI, 0.57-0.85) were calculated for distinguishing ≥A2. In addition, a cutoff value of 17.25 (m/s)/kHz ( P = 0.023) and AUROC = 0.72 (CI, 0.51-0.93) were found to detect severe necroinflammation. The cutoff value for SWD was 15.25 (m/s)/kHz ( P = 0.013) for detecting ≥A2 in the reversible stage of fibrosis (F0, F1, and F2), and AUROC = 0.72 (CI, 0.56-0.88). CONCLUSIONS: Two-dimensional SWE and TE measurements were significant in detecting the irreversible stage and the stage that should be treated in hepatic fibrosis noninvasively. Shear wave dispersion measurements were significant in detecting necroinflammation noninvasively.

Theoretical investigation of novel electron donors for bulk heterojunction solar cells with potential photovoltaic characteristics.

Engineering electronic organic donor materials are one of the most critical steps in producing bulk-heterojunction solar cells (BHJ) with good photovoltaic properties. Compared to standard donor materials, electron donors derived from thiophene have made significant progress as they can be better suited for optoelectronics and are cheaper and more stable. Therefore, the use of new thiophene derivatives (M1-M4) as donor molecules in BHJs has been the subject of this extensive theoretical analysis. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) computations have been used to investigate the boundary molecular orbital (FMO) analysis, the density of states analysis, electron and hole reorganization energy, molecular electrostatic potential, global reactivity parameters, and photovoltaic properties. The effects of end-donor modifications on the photovoltaic and electronic characteristics of the new molecules (M1-M4) are investigated. According to the results, the molecules have good optical properties, a small band gap, a perfect open-circuit voltage, and a good alignment energy level between the designated donor molecules and the acceptor phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). These results suggest that further research in this area could enhance the efficacy of organic solar cells.

Heme oxygenase-1 deficiency as an extremely rare cause of AA-type renal amyloidosis: Expanding the clinical features and review of the literature.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HMOX-1) is an enzyme that regulates heme degradation. Antiinflammatory, antioxidant, and cytoprotective effects of HMOX-1 were also described. It is encoded by the HMOX1 gene, and biallelic mutations cause HMOX-1 deficiency, which is a rare chronic multisystemic inflammatory disorder. This inflammatory status could lead to the development of secondary AA-type amyloidosis theoretically. Here, we report a 30-year-old male with AA-type renal amyloidosis due to a chronic inflammatory condition of unknown origin. Paternal consanguinity and dysmorphic features raised suspicion of a rare genetic disorder. Clinical exome sequencing (CES) confirmed the HMOX-1 deficiency diagnosis related to homozygous missense G139V mutation. To the best of our knowledge, our patient is the eleventh HMOX-1 deficiency case in the literature. Also, HMOX-1 deficiency-related systemic AA-type amyloidosis has not been reported before.

Role of spiral artery Doppler to screen type 2 endometrial cancer cases.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the value of endometrial blood flow assessment in predicting type 2 endometrial carcinoma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty-five consecutive post-menopoausal women who had vaginal bleeding were enrolled in the study. All subjects were directed to transvaginal sonography to determine endometrial blood flow and underwent endometrial biopsy. Doppler findings were analysed to predict endometrial pathology. Subjects with unsatisfactory Doppler analyses were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Mean age of the study population was 50.1±6.9 years (42-73). Mean endometrial thickness was 10.1±2.9 mm (4-15 mm) and mean cancer antigen 125 (CA125) level was 20.1±17.4 U/mL (3-92). Histopathological evaluation revealed 14 cases of type 2 endometrial cancer and 18 cases of endometrial hyperplasia without atypia, while the other 33 cases had normal endometrial tissue. CA125 (Area under curve (AUC)=0.853, p=0.000), spiral artery resistance index (AUC=0.905, p=0.000), and spiral artery peak systolic velocity (AUC=0.822, p=0.000) were significant predictors for the type 2 endometrial cancer cases. Endometrial thickness did not significantly predict pathologic cases (p>0.05). Hyperplasia cases were not predicted by any of these diagnostic modalities (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: In patients with postmenopausal bleeding, spiral artery Doppler ultrasound, could play a role in refining the diagnosis of type 2 endometrial carcinoma; however, its predictive value should be evaluated with further studies.