Theoretical models and experimental results on the temperature dependence of polyfluorene solar cells

The temperature dependence of device parameters of polymer solar cells based on alternating copolyfluorene incorporating dioctyl-fluorene and di-thienyl-benzothiadiazole (APFO-3) mixed with [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methylester (PCBM) was modeled theoretically by simulation and investigated experimentally under illumination of AM1.5 (100 mW/cm²). Both simulation and experimental results show photocurrent, fill factor and power conversion efficiency all increase, and the open-circuit voltages monotonically decrease with temperature increase from room temperature (RT) to 120 °C. These results can be explained by taking into account the temperature dependence of the mobility, and the thermal activation of the injection current from the electrodes. The increase of PCE with temperature is a distinguishing feature of polymer solar cells.     

Evaluation of registration methods on thoracic CT: the EMPIRE10 challenge

EMPIRE10 (Evaluation of Methods for Pulmonary Image REgistration 2010) is a public platform for fair and meaningful comparison of registration algorithms which are applied to a database of intrapatient thoracic CT image pairs. Evaluation of nonrigid registration techniques is a nontrivial task. This is compounded by the fact that researchers typically test only on their own data, which varies widely. For this reason, reliable assessment and comparison of different registration algorithms has been virtually impossible in the past. In this work we present the results of the launch phase of EMPIRE10, which comprised the comprehensive evaluation and comparison of 20 individual algorithms from leading academic and industrial research groups. All algorithms are applied to the same set of 30 thoracic CT pairs. Algorithm settings and parameters are chosen by researchers expert in the configuration of their own method and the evaluation is independent, using the same criteria for all participants. All results are published on the EMPIRE10 website (http://empire10.isi.uu.nl). The challenge remains ongoing and open to new participants. Full results from 24 algorithms have been published at the time of writing. This paper details the organization of the challenge, the data and evaluation methods and the outcome of the initial launch with 20 algorithms. The gain in knowledge and future work are discussed.     

Toxic effects of aliphatic chlorinated by-products from vinyl chloride production on marine animals

The acute toxic effects of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, formed as by-products from one Swedish and one Norwegian plastic production factory, were examined by experiments with cod (Gadus morhua), shrimp (Crangon crangon) and a polychaete (Ophyryotrocha labronica). The toxicity of 1,2-dichloroethane—a dominating compound of the by-products—and a distillate with heavier compounds were also estimated. The toxicity (48 h, LC50) ratio between the concentrations of a Swedish by-product, a Norwegian by-product, and dichloroethane was 1:9:34. The effects of 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane and 1,1,2-trichloroethene on the reproductivity, and on the survival of adults of Ophryotrocha were studied. The reproductivity was affected by these components in far lower concentrations than those having acute toxic effects on adult specimens. In one experiment series Ophryotrocha was exposed suddenly to the test solutions and in a second series the first presentation was made by a successive increase of the concentration during one hour. The estimated 96-h LC50-values for the test with successive increase were 1·8–3·1 times higher than those found for the test with sudden exposure. It is suggested that a physiological shock in the start of bioassay experiments might have reduced the LC50-values in many previous tests.     

The pleistocene clastic deposits of the latium coast—Italy

Close to the present Latium coast, at Rio Torto, in the area between Pomezia and Ardea, about 35 km to the South of Rome, there are vast sandy deposits of continental and marine origin that may be associated with ancient coast lines. The extent and thickness of these deposits vary widely and are used as sources for extracting aggregate materials that are successfully used in preparing cement mortars. Field surveys and laboratory tests have helped identify these products as belonging to a paleogeographic environment and to define both their volume and their geographic location. The results obtained have allowed characterization of the sands from a technical point of view and to define their fields of utilization keeping account of their location and their mining availability.     

Accurate polarization measurements with a dual photoelastic modulator

Measurements of the polarization effects in multimirror experiments by using a dual photoelastic modulator are described. The effect of single and multiple mirrors in polarization measurements in two and three dimensions is discussed, and experimental results show how symmetrical placement of mirrors in three-dimensional geometry can eliminate changes in the polarization. Calibration procedures for a dual photoelastic modulator and potential error sources such as misalignment of analyzer, signal dc offset, and neglect of aperture size are presented. Mirror-surface evolution and how it can disturb the polarization measurement are also addressed.     

Microfluidic gradient-generating device for pharmacological profiling

We describe an on-chip microfluidic gradient-generating device that generates concentration gradients spanning nearly 5 orders of magnitude starting from a single concentration. The exiting stream of drugs held at different concentrations remains laminar in a recording chamber and can be presented as 24 discrete solutions to a cell-based sensor. The high-performance characteristics of the device are demonstrated by pharmacological screening of voltage-gated K+ channels (hERG) and ligand-gated GABA(A) receptors using scanning-probe patch-clamp measurements. Multiple data point dose-response curves and IC50 and EC50 values were rapidly obtained, typically in less than 30 min, through its combined functionality of gradient generation and open-volume laminar flow. The device facilitates rapid pharmacological profiling of ion channel and GPCR effectors and enables the acquisition of large numbers of data points with minute sample consumption and handling.     

A novel method for determination of size resolved, submicrometer particle traffic emission factors

A novel approach to determine size-segregated particle number emission factors for traffic is presented. It was proven that using limited data sets (800-2000 samples) statistically significant emission factors from road traffic can be extracted. In this study data from four sites were used for calculating emission factors (rural and urban roadside, urban rooftop, and urban background). The measurements were performed using SMPS/DMPS (scanning or differential particle sizers) from TSI and commercial gas analyzers. Describing the particle concentration as a ratio to an exhaust trace gas, e.g. NOx, the dilution effect will be minimized. This ratio is easily compared among different studies. By knowledge of the emission factor of the chosen trace gas the emission ratio can be converted to an emission factor for particle numbers of defined particle sizes. For the presented method only one measurement site is needed, where the difference between high and low (background) traffic exposure is used. To define high and low traffic exposure, the best result was obtained using high ratio of [NO] to [NO2] and low [NOx], respectively. Emission ratios for 10-100-nm particles at two road sites, one high-speed 90-kmph rural case and one urban, slower, and more congested situation, were determined to (35 +/- 15) x 10(14) and (24 +/- 8) x 10(14) particles per mole NOx, respectively.