julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Role of Morphology and Förster Resonance Energy Transfer in Ternary Blend Organic Solar Cells
2020-12-07

Organic solar cells (OSCs) fabricated from ternary blend thin film absorbers are designed to maximize the range of absorption in the solar spectrum and thus increase the short-circuit current density (JSC) of the device. Herein, we report OSCs formed with two different compositions of ternary blend thin films comprising two electron donors and one acceptor, namely, PTB7-Th/PCDTBT/IT4F and PTB7-Th/PBDB-T/IT4F. We evaluate the role of FÃ¶rster resonance energy transfer (FRET) and blend morphology to achieve composition-dependent device performance. We observed â�¥10 increment in JSC for both the ternary blends as compared to that for the PTB7-Th:IT4F binary blend, resulting in an enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE) up to 10.34 for the PTB7-Th:PBDB-T:IT4F blend. We provide evidence that the two foremost parameters that control the PCE are blend morphology and FRET between donor components. The improved exciton generation rate for PCDTBT-based ternary blends was achieved, suggesting effective contribution of FRET toward enhanced device photocurrent, whereas the PBDB-T-based ternary blend excelled mainly due to suppressed carrier recombination as a result of favorable orientation with PTB7-Th/IT4F. Â©
‘Seeing Shit’: Assessing the Visibility of Dung Tempering in Ancient Pottery Using an Experimental Approach
2020-12-07

Widespread ethnographic evidence exists for the addition of animal dung to clay during the process of ceramic production. However, conclusive evidence of dung tempering in archaeological ceramics is relatively rare. The aim of this study is to ascertain whether, and under which conditions, dung tempering of pottery is identifiable. To answer these questions, we assessed whether a combination of micro-particle analysis in loose sediment and thin-section petrography can reveal the addition of dung to the clay paste by focusing on faecal spherulites, ash pseudomorphs, phytoliths and coprophilous fungal spores. We analysed several series of experimentally produced ceramic briquettes tempered with different types of dung and dung ash, which were fired at a range of increasing temperatures. Our study shows that the identification of dung tempering represents a challenge, and it depends on a number of different factors, among others the original presence of dung markers in the dung used, the manufacturing process, the firing temperatures and the firing atmosphere. Overall, through a multidisciplinary approach, our work clarifies a variety of issues connected to the identification of dung in ancient pottery, highlighting the role of faecal spherulites as the most promising proxy.
Toward a density-functional theory for the Jagla fluid
2020-12-07

The so-called Jagla fluid is well known to exhibit, in addition to the usual gas-liquid critical point, also a liquid-liquid critical point, as well as a density anomaly. This makes it an interesting toy model for water, for which a liquid-liquid critical point is considered to exist but so far eludes experimental verification due to crystallization occurring in the corresponding metastable, deeply supercooled state. With the Jagla fluid being understood quite well in bulk-mostly via simulation studies-the focus of the present study is to describe the spatially inhomogeneous fluid in terms of classical density-functional theory (DFT) with the aim to be able to control its phase behavior on changing the shape or the nature of the confinement of the fluid. This information might contribute to guide potential experimental tests of the liquid-liquid critical point of actual water. We first determine the bulk phase diagram for the Jagla fluid by using thermodynamical perturbation theory. In doing so we explain why the perturbation theories of Barker and Henderson as well as of Weeks, Chandler, and Anderson fail to describe the Jagla fluid. We then continue to construct a perturbative DFT based on our bulk model, which shows significant improvement over the standard mean-field DFT valid at high temperatures. But ultimately the perturbative DFT breaks down at state points close to the binodal line and at low temperatures. This prevents us from achieving the original aim to study a highly confined, inhomogeneous Jagla fluid close to its liquid-liquid binodal.
Trauma exposure therapy in a pregnant woman suffering from complex posttraumatic stress disorder after childhood sexual abuse: risk or benefit?
2020-12-07

<b>Background:</b> Mental disorders during pregnancy are common and affect the health of mother and child. Despite a relatively high prevalence rate, treatment options have not been investigated systematically. Particularly symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may increase significantly during the course of pregnancy. However, proper guidelines for psychotherapeutic treatment of PTSD during pregnancy do not exist. <b>Objective:</b> In this article, we aimed at discussing the effects of untreated PTSD on pregnancy and postpartum mother-child bonding as well as exposure therapy during pregnancy. <b>Method:</b> To do so, we present the case of a pregnant woman with complex PTSD following childhood sexual abuse. At the time of hospitalization, the patient was pregnant in the second trimester and reported intrusive re-experiencing of the traumatic events, nightmares, anxiety and helplessness as well as an impairing level of irritability during social situations. After a careful discussion of the case within our department and at the annual conference of the German Association of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, we decided to treat the patient with dialectical behavior therapy for PTSD (DBT-PTSD) including exposure therapy under the regular observation of a gynecologist. Psychometric measurements (Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS) and Borderline Symptom- List-23 (BSL-23) were used to observe the course of treatment regarding common PTSD-symptoms and disturbances in self-organization (DSO). <b>Results:</b> The intensity of intrusions and hyperarousal increased from the date of admission, reached the maximum when exposure started and decreased below baseline-level at the end of treatment. Avoidance behavior continually decreased from the beginning until the end of therapy. Decreased BSL-23 values show major improvements regarding DSO. To our knowledge, the course of pregnancy was not affected by treatment-induced psychological and physical symptoms.<b>Conclusions</b>: DBT- PTSD is a potential treatment option for patients suffering from PTSD during pregnancy. Yet, further (epigenetic) research in this field is urgently needed.
“Silent” circulation of Trypanosoma spp. in Tabanids (Diptera: Tabanidae) and Cattle in a Tsetse free Range land of Ngaoundere (Adamawa-Cameroon)
2020-12-07

The Adamawa region falls within the tsetse belt of Cameroon but harbours isolated pockets of tsetse free range lands like Ngaoundere. There is no report on the occurrence of tsetse and bovine trypanosomosis in Ngaoundere. To provide information on this subject, two Vavoua traps were used to trap vectors of bovine trypanosomiasis and at the same time, blood was collected from cattle. Genomic DNA was extracted from buffy coat of cattle blood (n=42) and biting flies (n=53). The nested PCR was used to screen the samples for Trypanosoma spp. During the 14 days of trapping in November and December 2017 in Ngaoundere, 127 flies were documented and classified under two taxa: Tabanidae and Stomoxyini. Three Trypanosoma spp. DNA was isolated from tabanid (18.9%) samples and identified as T. theileri, T. vivax and T. evansi and two of them that is T. theileri (4%) and T. vivax (3%) were also detected in cattle (7%). There was no case of trypanosome DNA isolated from all the screened Stomoxyini. This result indicates the “silent” transmission of T. theileri and T. vivax by tabanids in the absence of glossines in Ngaoundere.Keywords: Trypanosomes, tabanids, stomoxyini, PCR, Ngaoundere, Adamawa-Cameroon.
Quantifying measurement quality and load distribution in Tor
2020-12-07

Tor is a widely used anonymization network. Traffic is routed over different relay nodes to conceal the communication partners. However, if a single relay handles too much traffic, de-anonymization attacks are possible. The Tor Load Balancing Mechanism (TLBM) is responsible for balanced and secure load distribution. It must verify that relays cannot attract more traffic than they should by lying about their self-reported bandwidth. This work shows that the current bandwidth measurement method used for bandwidth verification is not suitable to verify the bandwidth of many relays. Most importantly, multiple measurements of high-bandwidth relays are uncorrelated to each other. Furthermore, we analyze the current load distribution in Tor. We show that the current load distribution reduces the resources necessary for several large-scale de-anonymization attacks by more than 80%. Additionally, as Tor favors fast relays during path selection, verifiable relays only handle a small fraction of Tor’s traffic. More precisely, we show that only 7.21% of all paths consist of entry and exit relays verifiable by measurements. We discuss these results’ security implications and argue that future TLBM research should focus at least as much on secure load distribution as on high traffic performance.
Factorization and its breaking in dijet single transverse spin asymmetries in pp collisions
2020-12-07

We study factorization in single transverse spin asymmetries for dijet\\nproduction in proton-proton collisions, by considering soft gluon radiation at\\none-loop order. We show that the associated transverse momentum dependent (TMD)\\nfactorization is valid at the leading logarithmic level. At\\nnext-to-leading-logarithmic (NLL) accuracy, however, we find that soft gluon\\nradiation generates terms in the single transverse spin dependent cross section\\nthat differ from those known for the unpolarized case. As a consequence, these\\nterms cannot be organized in terms of a spin independent soft factor in the\\nfactorization formula. We present leading logarithmic predictions for the\\nsingle transverse spin dijet asymmetry for collisions at RHIC, based on\\nquark Sivers functions constrained by semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering\\ndata. We hope that our results will contribute to a better understanding of TMD\\nfactorization breaking effects at NLL accuracy and beyond.\\n
Sharing Electrons: An Extraordinary Friendship Between Bacteria
2020-12-07

Did you know that iron is one of the most important elements on Earth? It is assumed that life evolved close to iron sources. This means that the earliest life forms—and therefore oldest creatures—were able to use iron to obtain energy the way we use food. These tiny organisms are called iron microorganisms and can occur in sediments, which are mainly muddy sand. But less was known about where iron microorganisms live in these sediments—are they located close to the water surface or deep in the sediment? In this study, a team from the University of Tübingen investigated the distribution and variety of iron microorganisms. The scientists discovered that iron microorganisms live independent from their favorite foods: iron, oxygen, and light! This independence might be explained by an unexpected extraordinary friendship with a “living cable.” Are you curious about what a living cable is?
Tissue Hypoxia and Alterations in Microvascular Architecture Predict Glioblastoma Recurrence in Humans
2020-12-08

Abstract Purpose: Insufficient control of infiltrative glioblastoma (GBM) cells is a major cause of treatment failure and tumor recurrence. Hence, detailed insights into pathophysiologic changes that precede GBM recurrence are needed to develop more precise neuroimaging modalities for tailored diagnostic monitoring and therapeutic approaches. Experimental Design: Overall, 168 physiologic MRI follow-up examinations of 56 patients with GBM who developed recurrence after standard therapy were retrospectively evaluated, that is, two post–standard-therapeutic follow-ups before and one at radiological recurrence. MRI biomarkers for microvascular architecture and perfusion, neovascularization activity, oxygen metabolism, and hypoxia were determined for brain areas that developed in the further course into recurrence and for the recurrent GBM itself. The temporal pattern of biomarker changes was fitted with locally estimated scatterplot smoothing functions and analyzed for pathophysiologic changes preceding radiological GBM recurrence. Results: Our MRI approach demonstrated early pathophysiologic changes prior to radiological GBM recurrence in all patients. Analysis of the time courses revealed a model for the pathophysiology of GBM recurrence: 190 days prior to radiological recurrence, vascular cooption by GBM cells induced vessel regression, detected as decreasing vessel density/perfusion and increasing hypoxia. Seventy days later, neovascularization activity was upregulated, which reincreased vessel density and perfusion. Hypoxia, however, continued to intensify for 30 days and peaked 90 days before radiological recurrence. Conclusions: Hypoxia may represent an early sign for GBM recurrence. This might become useful in the development of new combined diagnostic–therapeutic approaches for tailored clinical management of recurrent GBM. Further preclinical and in-human studies are required for validation and evaluation.
Geometry relaxation-mediated localization and delocalization of excitons in organic semiconductors: A quantum chemical study
2020-12-08

Photo-induced relaxation processes leading to excimer formations or other traps are in the focus of many investigations of optoelectronic materials because they severely affect the efficiencies of corresponding devices. Such relaxation effects comprise inter-monomer distortions in which the orientations of the monomer change with respect to each other, whereas intra-monomer distortions are variations in the geometry of single monomers. Such distortions are generally neglected in quantum chemical investigations of organic dye aggregates due to the accompanied high computational costs. In the present study, we investigate their relevance using perylene-bisimide dimers and diindenoperylene tetramers as model systems. Our calculations underline the importance of intra-monomer distortions on the shape of the potential energy surfaces as a function of the coupling between the monomers. The latter is shown to depend strongly on the electronic state under consideration. In particular, it differs between the first and second excited state of the aggregate. Additionally, the magnitude of the geometrical relaxation decreases if the exciton is delocalized over an increasing number of monomers. For the interpretation of the vibronic coupling model, pseudo-Jahn–Teller or Marcus theory can be employed. In the first part of this paper, we establish the accuracy of density functional theory-based approaches for the prediction of vibrationally resolved absorption spectra of organic semiconductors. These investigations underline the accuracy of those approaches although shortcomings become obvious as well. These calculations also indicate the strength of intra-monomer relaxation effects.
Thiosulfate Reduction Coupled with Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation by Ralstonia sp. GX3-BWBA
2020-12-08

Thiosulfate reduction coupled with anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Sammox) has been recently reported as an ancient metabolic pathway. Therefore, the Sammox microbes are well worth discovering. In this study, we isolated and identified a mixtrophic Sammox bacterium, Ralstonia sp. GX3-BWBA. Nitrite was an intermediate product of both thiosulfate- and sulfate-fueled Sammox metabolism, while nitrogen gas was the end product. Ralstonia sp. GX3-BWBA prefers thiosulfate to sulfate as an electron acceptor for coupling anaerobic ammonium oxidation. Genomic analysis of Ralstonia sp. GX3-BWBA implied that this ancient metabolism in modern microbes might contain two stages according to ammonium transformation, oxidation of ammonium to nitrite and denitrification. The incomplete reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle and reductive acetyl-CoA pathway were all identified Ralstonia sp. GX3-BWBA metabolic networks, which were responsible for chemolithotrophic metabolism. Ralstonia sp. GX3-BWBA contains no ATP sulfurylase (Sat)-coding gene, suggesting that sulfate reduction in sulfate-fueled Sammox is different from dissimilatory sulfate reduction. Ferredoxin oxidoreductase or other iron–sulfur enzymes encoded by genes with unknown sequences may be involved in thiosulfate reduction in the Sammox process. Our findings regarding the Sammox microbes provide microbiological evidence for this unique feature of life.
Long‐term disease course of two patients with multiple sulfatase deficiency differs from metachromatic leukodystrophy in a broad cohort
2020-12-08

Abstract Multiple sulfatase deficiency (MSD) is a lysosomal storage disease caused by a deficiency of formylglycine‐generating enzyme due to SUMF1 defects. MSD may be misdiagnosed as metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), as neurological and neuroimaging findings are similar, and arylsulfatase A (ARSA) deficiency and enhanced urinary sulfatide excretion may also occur. While ARSA deficiency seems a cause for neurological symptoms and later neurodegenerative disease course, deficiency of other sulfatases results in clinical features such as dysmorphism, dysostosis, or ichthyosis. We report on a girl and a boy of the same origin presenting with severe ARSA deficiency and neurological and neuroimaging features compatible with MLD. However, exome sequencing revealed not yet described homozygosity of the missense variant c.529G &gt; C, p.Ala177Pro in SUMF1 . We asked whether dynamics of disease course differs between MSD and MLD. Comparison to a cohort of 59 MLD patients revealed different disease course concerning onset and disease progression in both MSD patients. The MSD patients showed first gross motor symptoms earlier than most patients with juvenile MLD (&lt;10th percentile of Gross‐Motor‐Function in MLD [GMFC‐MLD] 1). However, subsequent motor decline was more protracted (75th and 90th percentile of GMFC‐MLD 2 (loss of independent walking) and 75th percentile of GMFC‐MLD 5 (loss of any locomotion)). Language decline started clearly after 50th percentile of juvenile MLD and progressed rapidly. Thus, dynamics of disease course may be a further clue for the characterization of MSD. These data may contribute to knowledge of natural course of ultra‐rare MSD and be relevant for counseling and therapy.
Treatment Goals for Patients with Schizophrenia — A Narrative Review of Physician and Patient Perspectives
2020-12-08

Abstract Introduction There are many possible treatment goals for patients with schizophrenia. Two major perspectives on treatment goals are the patient’s and the physician’s perspective. Patient-centered treatment mandates that an individual patient’s treatment goals are taken into account when treatment is planned. In this narrative review, we address the commonalities and differences of the patient’s and physician’s perspectives. Methods We searched for literature on treatment goals for patients with schizophrenia from the last 10 years. Results Fifty-two relevant records were identified, 4 of which directly compare patient’s and physician’s perspectives. Two further articles used the same set of goals to ask patients or physicians for their assessment. Discussion Agreement between patients and physicians regarding valuation of treatment goals was high. However, physicians tended to put more emphasis on the classical “textbook” goals of symptom resolution and functioning, while patients stressed well-being and quality of life more. Results on treatment goals from patients are difficult to generalize, since recruiting representative patient samples is challenging and patient subgroups may have differing priorities.
A convergent algorithm for forced mean curvature flow driven by diffusion on the surface
2020-12-08

The evolution of a closed two-dimensional surface driven by both mean curvature flow and a reaction–diffusion process on the surface is formulated as a system that couples the velocity law not only to the surface partial differential equation but also to the evolution equations for the normal vector and the mean curvature on the surface. Two algorithms are considered for the obtained system. Both methods combine surface finite elements for space discretization and linearly implicit backward difference formulae for time integration. Based on our recent results for mean curvature flow, one of the algorithms directly admits a convergence proof for its full discretization in the case of finite elements of polynomial degree at least two and backward difference formulae of orders two to five, with optimal-order error bounds. Numerical examples are provided to support and complement the theoretical convergence results (illustrating the convergence behaviour of both algorithms) and demonstrate the effectiveness of the methods in simulating a three-dimensional tumour growth model.
Roughness evolution in strongly interacting donor:acceptor mixtures of molecular semiconductors. An in situ, real-time growth study using x-ray reflectivity
2020-12-08

Abstract The evolution of surface roughness in binary mixtures of the two molecular organic semiconductors (OSCs) diindenoperylene (DIP) as electron-donor and 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8-hexafluoro-tetracyano naphthoquinodimethane (F6TCNNQ) as electron-acceptor is studied. We co-deposit DIP and F6TCNNQ in vacuum with varying relative molar content while keeping a molar excess of DIP in order to produce phase-heterogeneous mixtures. The excess DIP phase segregates in pristine crystallites, whereas the remaining mixed phase is constituted by DIP:F6TCNNQ co-crystallites. We calculate the surface roughness as function of film thickness by modelling x-ray reflectivity data acquired in situ and in real-time during film growth. To model the experimental data, two distinct approaches, namely the kinematic approximation and the Parratt formalism, are applied. A comparative study of surface roughness evolution as function of DIP:F6TCNNQ mixing ratio is carried out implementing the Trofimov growth model within the kinematic approximation. Depending on the thickness regime, mixing ratio-specific trends are identified and discussed. To explain them, a growth mechanism for binary heterogeneous mixtures of strongly interacting OSCs is proposed.
The NLRP3 inflammasome drives inflammation in ischemia/reperfusion injury after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion in mice
2020-12-09

Our data show that induction of the NLRP3 inflammasome in neurons drives neuroinflammation in acute ischemic stroke. Early blockade of NLRP3 protects from I/R injury by mitigating inflammation and stabilizing the blood-brain barrier.
Nonequilibrium Many-Body Quantum Engine Driven by Time-Translation Symmetry Breaking
2020-12-09

Quantum many-body systems out of equilibrium can host intriguing phenomena such as transitions to exotic dynamical states. Although this emergent behaviour can be observed in experiments, its potential for technological applications is largely unexplored. Here, we investigate the impact of collective effects on quantum engines that extract mechanical work from a many-body system. Using an optomechanical cavity setup with an interacting atomic gas as a working fluid, we demonstrate theoretically that such engines produce work under periodic driving. The stationary cycle of the working fluid features nonequilibrium phase transitions, resulting in abrupt changes of the work output. Remarkably, we find that our many-body quantum engine operates even without periodic driving. This phenomenon occurs when its working fluid enters a phase that breaks continuous time-translation symmetry: The emergent time-crystalline phase can sustain the motion of a load generating mechanical work. Our findings pave the way for designing novel nonequilibrium quantum machines.