New diketopyrrolopyrrole based D–A–D π-conjugated molecules: Synthesis,optical, electrochemical,morphological and photovoltaic properties

Two solution processable donor–acceptor, π-conjugated molecules that consist of diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) central acceptor unit with dibenzofuran (DPP-DBF) or acenaphtene (DPP-ACN) donor substituents, were prepared by Suzuki coupling reaction. The optical, electrochemical and film forming properties of these D–A–D molecules were investigated and used as active materials in bulk heterojunction solar cells.     

Polyazines and Polyazomethines with Didodecylthiophene Units for Selective Dispersion of Semiconducting Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Polymer wrapped single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been demonstrated to be a very efficient technique to obtain high purity semiconducting SWNT solutions. However, the extraction yield of this technique is low compared to other techniques. Poly‐alkyl‐thiophenes have been reported to show higher extraction yield compare to polyfluorene derivatives. Here, the affinity for semiconducting SWNTs of two polymers with a backbone containing didodecylthiophene units interspersed with N atoms is reported. It is demonstrated that one of the polymers, namely, poly(2,5‐dimethylidynenitrilo‐3,4‐didodecylthienylene) (PAMDD), has very high semiconducting SWNT extraction yield compared to the poly(3,4‐didodecylthienylene)azine (PAZDD). The dissimilar wrapping efficiency of these two polymers for semiconducting SWNTs is attributed to the interplay between the affinity for the nitrogen atoms of the highly polarizable walls of SWNTs and the mechanical flexibility of the polymer backbones. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements demonstrate the presence of metallic tubes and SWNT bundles in the sample selected with PAZDD and higher purity of SWNT‐PAMDD samples. The high purity of the semiconducting SWNTs selected by PAMDD is further demonstrated by the high performance of the solution‐processed field‐effect transistors (FETs) fabricated using a blade coating technique, which exhibit hole mobilities up to 33.3 cm² V^?1 s^?1 with on/off ratios of 10⁶.     

The principal rapamycin-sensitive p70(s6k) phosphorylation sites, T-229 and T-389, are differentially regulated by rapamycin-insensitive kinase kinases

Mitogen-induced activation of p70(s6k) is associated with the phosphorylation of specific sites which are negatively affected by the immunosuppressant rapamycin, the fungal metabolite wortmannin, and the methylxanthine SQ20006. Recent reports have focused on the role of the amino terminus of the p85(s6k) isoform in mediating kinase activity, with the observation that amino-terminal truncation mutants are activated in the presence of rapamycin while retaining their sensitivity to wortmannin. Here we show that the effects of previously described amino- and carboxy-terminal truncations on kinase activity are ultimately reflected in the phosphorylation state of the enzyme. Mutation of the principal rapamycin-targeted phosphorylation site, T-389, to an acidic residue generates a form of the kinase which is as resistant to wortmannin or SQ20006 as it is to rapamycin, consistent with the previous observation that T-389 was a common target of all three inhibitors. Truncation of the first 54 residues of the amino terminus blocks the serum-induced phosphorylation of three rapamycin-sensitive sites, T-229 in the activation loop and T-389 and S-404 in the linker region. This correlates with a severe reduction in the ability of the kinase to be activated by serum. However, loss of mitogen activation conferred by the removal of the amino terminus is reversed by additional truncation of the carboxy-terminal domain, with the resulting mutant demonstrating phosphorylation of the remaining two rapamycin-sensitive sites, T-229 and T-389. In this double-truncation mutant, phosphorylation of T-229 occurs in the basal state, whereas mitogen stimulation is required to induce acute upregulation of T-389 phosphorylation. The phosphorylation of both sites proceeds unimpaired in the presence of rapamycin, indicating that the kinases responsible for the phosphorylation of these sites are not inhibited by the macrolide. In contrast, activation of the double-truncation mutant is blocked in the presence of wortmannin or SQ20006, and these agents completely block the phosphorylation of T-389 while having only a marginal effect on T-229 phosphorylation. When the T-389 site is mutated to an acidic residue in the double-truncation background, the activation of the resulting mutant is insensitive to the wortmannin and SQ20006 block, but interestingly, the mutant is activated to a significantly greater level than a control in the presence of rapamycin. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that T-389 is the principal regulatory phosphorylation site, which, in combination with hyperphosphorylation of the autoinhibitory domain S/TP sites, is acutely regulated by external effectors, whereas T-229 phosphorylation is regulated primarily by internal mechanisms.     

Instructional and isolation effect on susceptibility to social reinforcement.

Investigated the relationship of anxiety-inducing (hai) or anxiety-reducing (lai) instructions with social isolation and social reinforcer effectiveness. 80 3rd grade ss, under hai and lai conditions, underwent 0- or 3-min isolation periods. Following instructional and isolational procedures, ss received social reinforcement for correct responses on a probability matching task. Results show that the hai isolated group was significantly more susceptible to social reinforcement than the other 3 groups. Findings are consistent with an anxiety interpretation of the social isolation effect. (french summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two cases of external ophthalmomyasis (author's transl)

After a brief survey of Hungarian references the author reports on two cases of ophthalmomyasis externa. The organism was shown to be present oestrus ovis in one instance. The treatment with carbon-tetrachloride might be considered as a new and efficacious therapy.     

Area scaling in N2 waveguide lasers

The area scaling in a nitrogen (N₂: 337.1 nm) laser excited by the similar longitudinal discharges in single- and multichannel laser structures has been experimentally studied. The results demonstrate the capability of the area scaling method for increasing the average power and pulse-repetition frequency (PRF) of the laser. The variation of the laser output with the channel area and the effects of similar discharges are analyzed     

Investigation into the scuffing load capacity of environmentally-friendly lubricating oils

The present paper looks at the nature of scuffing, and the factors influencing it, for both hot scuffing and cold scuffing. The influence of surface layers and finishes in relation to this phenomenon are discussed, and some preliminary results are presented for cold scuffing tests, with various steels, for a mineral oil, a rapeseed oil, and a vegetable-based oil.     

Age, exercise, and coding performance.

We investigated the effects of exercise on the coding performance of young and older subjects. Hypotheses were tested that exercise either facilitates spatial localization or reduces susceptibility to distraction in older subjects. In a balanced design, we administered Digit Symbol and Symbol Digit coding tasks to exercisers and nonexercisers at two age levels under conditions of low or high within-task interference. The findings showed higher performance by the exercisers than by the nonexercisers only at the older age level and only with the Symbol Digit task. These findings support the hypothesis that exercise compensates for a loss of spatial localization skills with age. We found no evidence that susceptibility to distraction either increased with age or was affected by chronic exercise. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is the presence of distant metastasis associated with c-myc amplification in gastric cancer?

The expression of the c-myc oncogenes has already been reported in human gastric carcinoma. Overexpression can be the consequence of oncogene amplification and often correlates with different prognostic factors. Authors investigated the value of c-myc oncogene amplification in 23 patients (9 male, 14 female, aged 28-85 yrs) with gastric cancer and its correlation to the following clinical and histopathological parameters: grade, TNM stage, Lauren's type, localisation and severity of disease. DNA was isolated from formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissue for quantitative dot-blot hybridisation. Amplified c-myc was found in 6 out of 23 cases. Its values ranged from 2.12 up to 18.2 (average 9.1). Significant association was found between the presence of c-myc amplification and distant metastasis (corr. coeff.: 0.5623, p < 0.01). High scores of the other parameters also correlated with c-myc, albeit not significantly. The result of cluster analysis, based on the similarity of the parameter values for the individual patients proved that the age was the decisive factor in creating two groups. The distribution of patients into these groups did not seem to coincide with the presence of c-myc amplification or distant metastasis, inspite of the proved correlation between them.