Nanoconfined LiBH4 as a Fast Lithium Ion Conductor

Designing new functional materials is crucial for the development of efficient energy storage and conversion devices such as all solid‐state batteries. LiBH₄ is a promising solid electrolyte for Li‐ion batteries. It displays high lithium mobility, although only above 110 °C at which a transition to a high temperature hexagonal structure occurs. Herein, it is shown that confining LiBH₄ in the pores of ordered mesoporous silica scaffolds leads to high Li⁺ conductivity (0.1 mS cm^?1) at room temperature. This is a surprisingly high value, especially given that the nanocomposites comprise 42 vol% of SiO₂. Solid state ⁷Li NMR confirmed that the high conductivity can be attributed to a very high Li⁺ mobility in the solid phase at room temperature. Confinement of LiBH₄ in the pores leads also to a lower solid‐solid phase transition temperature than for bulk LiBH₄. However, the high ionic mobility is associated with a fraction of the confined borohydride that shows no phase transition, and most likely located close to the interface with the SiO₂ pore walls. These results point to a new strategy to design low‐temperature ion conducting solids for application in all solid‐state lithium ion batteries, which could enable safe use of Li‐metal anodes.     

Fine Tuned Nanolayered Metal/Metal Oxide Electrode for Semitransparent Colloidal Quantum Dot Solar Cells

Semitransparent photovoltaics have great potential, for example, in building‐integration or in portable electronics. However, the front and back contact electrodes significantly affect the light transmission and photovoltaic performance of the complete device. Herein, the use of a semitransparent nanolayered metal/metal oxide electrode for a semitransparent PbS colloidal quantum dot solar cell to increase the light transmission and power conversion efficiency is reported. The effect of the nanolayered electrode on the optical properties within the solar cells is studied and compared to a theoretically model to identify the origin of optical losses that lower the device transmission. The results show that the light transmission in the visible region and the photovoltaic performance are significantly enhanced with the nanolayered electrode. The solar cell shows an efficiency of 5.4% and average visible transmittance of 24.1%, which is an increase by 28.6% and 59.6%, respectively, compared to the device with a standard Au film as the electrode. These results demonstrate that the optical and electrical modification of transparent electrode is possible and essential for reducing the light reflection and absorption of the electrode in semitransparent photovoltaics, and, meanwhile the demonstrated nanolayered materials may provide an avenue for enhancing the device transparency and efficiency.     

A simple flow-injection method for the determination of blood glucose using a Technicon immobilized enzyme coil

The applicability of a single-channel flow-injection system with immobilized enzyme coil (Technicon) and UV detection to the determination of glucose is described. The method was used for a pure glucose solution and for serum. The detection limit was 0.10 mM, the rate of determination was 20-40 per hour and the precision was satisfactory. The system is very simple and practical when many analysis are to be determined periodically.     

Inhibition of establishment and growth of mouse liver metastases after treatment with interferon gamma and beta-1,3-D-glucan

Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) is a non-receptor protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) that is expressed in all haemopoietic lineages except mature T cells and plasma cells. Despite the broad range of expression. mutations that inactivate this molecule affect primarily the development of the B-cell lineage. As a PTK, Btk could potentially be involved directly or indirectly in the processes that relate to the malignant transformation of all the cell lineages where this molecule is expressed. Previous studies have failed to demonstrate mutations in patients with B-cell origin acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). We have utilized a recently developed method that enables the rapid and convenient detection of mutations at the cDNA level, namely, the non-isotopic RNase cleavage assay (NIRCA) to analyse Btk sequences from 27 patients with different types of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). The only alteration that we observed was a polymorphism at position 2031. This polymorphism has already been seen in previous studies. Furthermore, using the same methodology, we identified the Btk mutations in six XLA (X-linked agammaglobulinaemia) patients. Our results, although they do not exclude the involvement of Btk mutations in the development or progression of some type of AML, nevertheless suggest that such mutations do not constitute a major co-factor in the development of myeloid malignancies.     

High Temperature‐Stable Perovskite Solar Cell Based on Low‐Cost Carbon Nanotube Hole Contact

Mixed ion perovskite solar cells (PSC) are manufactured with a metal‐free hole contact based on press‐transferred single‐walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) film infiltrated with 2,2,7,‐7‐tetrakis(N,N‐di‐p‐methoxyphenylamine)‐9,90‐spirobifluorene (Spiro‐OMeTAD). By means of maximum power point tracking, their stabilities are compared with those of standard PSCs employing spin‐coated Spiro‐OMeTAD and a thermally evaporated Au back contact, under full 1 sun illumination, at 60 °C, and in a N₂ atmosphere. During the 140 h experiment, the solar cells with the Au electrode experience a dramatic, irreversible efficiency loss, rendering them effectively nonoperational, whereas the SWCNT‐contacted devices show only a small linear efficiency loss with an extrapolated lifetime of 580 h.