Nanoshuttered OLEDs: Unveiled Invisible Auxiliary Electrode

In this study, organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) with enhanced optical properties are fabricated by inserting a nanosized stripe auxiliary electrode layer (nSAEL) between the substrate and an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer. This design can avoid the shortcomings of conventional microsized layers while maintaining high optical uniformity due to the improved conductivity of the electrode. The primary advantage is that the nSAEL (submicrometer scale) is no longer visible to the naked eye. Moreover, the reflective shuttered (grating) structure of the nSAEL increases the forward‐directed light by the microcavity (MC) effect and minimizes the loss of light by the extracting the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) mode. In this study, the degree of the MC and SPP can be controlled with the parameters of the nSAEL by simply conjugating the conditions of laser interference lithography (LIL). Therefore, the current and power efficiencies of the device with an nSAEL with optimized parameters are 1.17 and 1.23 times higher than the reference device at 1000 cd/m², respectively, and at these parameters, the overall sheet resistance is reduced to less than half (48%). All of the processes are verified by comparing the computational simulation results and the experimental results obtained with the actual fabricated device.     

ZnS/CuInS2/Mo/钠钙玻璃衬底上射频溅射ZnO∶Al薄膜的SEM研究

结合ZnO薄膜在Cu-III-VI2基薄膜太阳电池上的应用，采用射频磁控溅射技术以陶瓷ZnO∶Al2O3为靶材在ZnS/CuInS2/Mo/钠钙玻璃衬底上于固定沉积条件下低温（200℃）制备了铝掺杂氧化锌（ZnO∶Al）薄膜. 运用扫描电子显微镜研究了底层材料特别是ZnS和CuInS2的生长参数对沉积的ZnO∶Al薄膜的表面形貌的影响. 实验发现，衬底材料中硫含量的增加（无论来自ZnS还是来自CuInS2) ，都会引起沉积ZnO∶Al薄膜结晶质量的提高，而金属含量的增大将有利于薄膜均匀性的改进.     

Chemiluminescent and Antioxidant Micelles as Theranostic Agents for Hydrogen Peroxide Associated‐Inflammatory Diseases

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is one of essential oxygen metabolites in living organisms, but is generated in large amounts during inflammatory responses. Therefore, H₂O₂ has great potential as diagnostic and therapeutic markers of several inflammatory and life‐threatening diseases. Here, chemiluminescent and antioxidant micelles are reported as novel theranostic agents for H₂O₂‐associated inflammatory diseases. The chemiluminescent micelles composed of amphiphilic block copolymer Pluronic F‐127, hydroxybenzyl alcohol‐incorporated copolyoxalate (HPOX) and fluorescent dyes perform peroxalate chemiluminescence reactions to detect H₂O₂ as low as 100 nM and image H₂O₂ generated in inflamed mouse ankles. The micelles encapsulating HPOX reduce the generation of reactive oxygen species in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐activated macrophages by scavenging overproduced H₂O₂ and releasing antioxidant hydroxybenzyl alcohol (HBA). They also exert inhibitory effects on H₂O₂‐induced apoptosis. HPOX‐based chemiluminescent and antioxidant micelles have great potential as a theranostic agent for H₂O₂‐associated inflammatory diseases.     

Improving Lipid Production of Yarrowia lipolytica by the Aldehyde Dehydrogenase-Mediated Furfural Detoxification

Yarrowia lipolytica, the non-conventional yeast capable of high lipogenesis, is a microbial chassis for producing lipid-based biofuels and chemicals from renewable resources such as lignocellulosic biomass. However, the low tolerance of Y. lipolytica against furfural, a major inhibitory furan aldehyde derived from the pretreatment processes of lignocellulosic biomass, has restricted the efficient conversion of lignocellulosic hydrolysates. In this study, the furfural tolerance of Y. lipolytica has been improved by supporting its endogenous detoxification mechanism. Specifically, the endogenous genes encoding the aldehyde dehydrogenase family proteins were overexpressed in Y. lipolytica to support the conversion of furfural to furoic acid. Among them, YALI0E15400p (FALDH2) has shown the highest conversion rate of furfural to furoic acid and resulted in two-fold increased cell growth and lipid production in the presence of 0.4 g/L of furfural. To our knowledge, this is the first report to identify the native furfural detoxification mechanism and increase furfural resistance through rational engineering in Y. lipolytica. Overall, these results will improve the potential of Y. lipolytica to produce lipids and other value-added chemicals from a carbon-neutral feedstock of lignocellulosic biomass.     

Poly(L‐lactic acid) with added α‐tocopherol and resveratrol: optical,physical, thermal and mechanical properties

Poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) films containing various concentrations of two natural antioxidants, α‐tocopherol and resveratrol, were fabricated by a melt compounding and compression molding process. The influence of the antioxidants on the optical properties such as color and UV‐visible light transmission was analyzed. The thermal, mechanical, rheological and physical properties of PLLA films with added antioxidants were assessed. PLLA films with added α‐tocopherol and resveratrol showed a yellowish brown color and the lightness was influenced by the presence of the antioxidants. The glass transition and melting temperatures were significantly reduced with the addition of antioxidants while enhanced thermal stability was observed, which could be a benefit and important for processing and production. PLLA films with added antioxidants were slightly more hydrophobic than neat PLLA. The combination effect of plasticizing and enhancement of the elastic modulus with differing concentrations of two antioxidants played a critical role in the mechanical and thermomechanical properties of PLLA films. The melt viscosity of the PLLA films with added antioxidants was substantially higher than that of neat PLLA. The higher melt viscosity and G′(ω) could be an indication of formation of entanglement between PLLA and the two antioxidants. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Availability-adjusted X-factor

The notion of extended X-factor contribution has been proposed and evaluated recently as a tool to identify system capacity constraints based on machine group utilization and raw processing time. This provides a great convenience for factory-floor managers examining system capacity issues by using only local- or machine-level information. The purpose of this study is twofold: to study fundamental properties of the extended X-factor contribution measure augmented with availability, and to use this new measure to investigate resource allocation for optimizing mean cycle time. The availability-adjusted X-factor was first introduced in the context of local cycle time and its relation to allocation of personnel in individual machine groups. The availability-adjusted X-factor contribution measure developed and evaluated in the current study differs from the previous measure by its ability to identify capacity-constraining machines in the entire system. The measure presented herein is a more accurate indicator of capacity constraints than the extended X-factor contribution measures. With an objective to minimize cycle time or maximize throughput by properly allocating available resources, the results presented herein clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of this new measure to identify capacity-constraining machines. This study also uses availability as a decision variable for mean cycle time optimization.     

Sunitinib release from biodegradable films of poly(l-lactide-co-caprolactone)

The aim of this study was to prepare sunitinib-loaded biodegradable films using poly(l-lactide-co-?-caprolactone) (PLCL) for anti-tumor drug delivery. Sunitinib-loaded PLCL film has a rough surface, while empty film has a smooth surface. PLCL film loaded with 5% (w/w) sunitinib showed an absence of a crystalline peak of sunitinib, while sharp peaks were observed at 10% (w/w) loading, indicating that sunitinib was molecularly distributed in the polymer matrix at 5% (w/w). A drug release study revealed an initial burst during the first 2 h, followed by continuous release until 24 h. Since weight loss of film was <10% for 1 week, drug release mechanism was dominantly dependent on the diffusion-mediated release of drugs to the medium. Sunitinib has a dose-dependent anti-proliferation effect against HuCC-T1 human cholangiocarcinoma cells in vitro. These results indicate that sunitinib-loaded PLCL film is a appropriate candidate as a vehicle for anti-tumor drug delivery.     

Fabrication of Pb1‐xSnxTe/PbTe heterojunctions by liquid phase epitaxy

Abstract

Pb_1‐x Sn _x Te epitaxial layers were successfully grown on PbTe substrates by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) technique. The compositions and surface morphology of the epitaxial Pb_1‐x Sn _x Te layers were controlled in the LPE growth, and p‐Pb_1‐x Sn _x Te/n‐PbTe heterodiodes with a good junction‐perfection factor were made.     

Strategies of using fly ash and their effect on properties of cement mortar

Abstract

Three different ways of using fly ash, namely, partial replacement of cement, or sand, or both cement and sand in the cement mortar, were studied in this investigation. The replacement varied from 10 percent to 60 percent by weight. The effects of design parameters such as water‐cement ratio and curing temperature on the replacements were studied. In this paper, strategies of using fly ash in concrete construction were also proposed in order to conserve resources.     

Grafting maleic anhydride onto EVA and effect on the physical and rheological properties of PETG/EVA-g-MAH blends

Maleic anhydride (MAH) was grafted onto ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) in the internal mixer in the presence of dicumyl peroxide (DCP), and a prepared reactive compatibilizer, MAH-g-EVA, was blended with Poly (ethylene glycol-co-cyclohexane-1,4-dimethanol terephthalate) (PETG). The gel content determination and element analysis (EA) was performed to confirm the grafting reaction. It was found that grafting reaction of MAH on to EVA could compete with crosslinking reaction of DCP during the modification process. In addition, the introduction of small amount of MAH showed a great effect on reducing gel content by decreasing crosslink reaction. As MAH content increased, grafted MAH concentration increased, whereas the grafting yield decreased. It was also confirmed that MAH-g-EVA acted as a reactive compatibilizer in the blend with PETG, and enhanced compatibility by reacting with the hydroxyl end groups, OH, of PETG. Addition of EVA in the blend leads a plastic deformation of PETG, and MAH had a great effect on enhancing interfacial adhesion resulting in significant increasing of % strain; however, improved compatibility could not be changed much in low strain tensile strength and Young's modulus. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012