The determination of the power conversion efficiency of solar cells based on organo-metal-halides is subject to an ongoing debate. As solar cell devices may exhibit very slow transient response, current-voltage scans in different directions may not be congruent, which is an effect often referred to as hysteresis. We here discuss time-resolved current-voltage measurements as a means to evaluate app

An increasingly large share of cross-border acquisitions are undertaken by private equity-firms (PE-firms) and not by traditional multinational enterprises (MNEs). We propose a model of cross-border acquisitions in which MNEs and PE-firms compete over domestic assets and which incorporates endogenous financial frictions. MNEs’ advantages lie in firm-specific synergies and access to internal capita

PURPOSE: To document and analyse the decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment (LST) in a population of very old patients admitted to the ICU.METHODS: This prospective study included intensive care patients aged ≥ 80 years in 309 ICUs from 21 European countries with 30-day mortality follow-up.RESULTS: LST limitation was identified in 1356/5021 (27.2%) of patients: 15% had a withho

The Horizon 2020 project EuPRAXIA (European Plasma Research Accelerator with eXcellence In Applications) is producing a conceptual design report for a highly compact and cost-effective European facility with multi-GeV electron beams accelerated using plasmas. EuPRAXIA will be set up as a distributed Open Innovation platform with two construction sites, one with a focus on beam-driven plasma accele

Exposing micro-dissected pancreatic islets of non-inbred ob/ob mice to 2-5 mM-alloxan for 10 min decreased the ability of the islets to accumulate Rb+. Rb+ accumulation in pieces of exocrine pancreas was unaffected by alloxan. When islets were treated with alloxan in the presence of 2-20 mM-D-glucose, the Rb+-accumulating ability was protected in a dose-dependent manner. The protective action of D

The effects of N iodoacetyl 2 amino 2 deoxy (D) glucose and various N bromoacetylglycosylamines on the release of insulin from microdissected pancreatic islets of non inbred ob/ob mice were studied. N Bromoacetyl β (D) glucosylamine (10 m(M)) initiated insulin release in the absence of (D) glucose and, at concentrations of 2.5-10 m(M), but not 20 m(M), potentiated insulin release in response to 10

Mouse pancreatic islets microdissected free from, or surrounded by, exocrine cells were used to study the effects of secretin and choleeystokinm-pancreozymin on insulin release. Both secretin and cholecystokinin-pancreozymin potentiated glucose-stimulated insulin release regardless of whether exocrine cells were present. The results fail to support the idea that the presence of the exocrine parenc

To extend available monoobjective optimization methods to multiobjective and multidisciplinary optimization, the construction of a suitable resultant objective function(in deterministic method-DM) or a fitness function(in genetic algorithm-GA) is important. An objective function combination method (OFCM) of constructing such a function for constrained optimization problems is suggested. How to use

Mn-doping into CdS quantum dots (QDs) has been demonstrated a useful way to enhance the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSCs), the detailed systematic study is needed to get a better fundamental understanding. This work focuses on the study of the effects of Mn dopant on light harvesting, charge transfer, and charge collection of the solar cells. The resul

Strengthening and rehabilitation of existing masonry buildings is a topic that attracts the interest of the scientific community worldwide. Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have been largely employed for structural rehabilitation of masonry structures due to their ease of installation and their high strength-to-weight ratio, since the end of the previous century. Recently, fiber reinforce

The duration of pregnancy is influenced by fetal and maternal genetic and non-genetic factors. Here we report a fetal genome-wide association meta-analysis of gestational duration, and early preterm, preterm, and postterm birth in 84,689 infants. One locus on chromosome 2q13 is associated with gestational duration; the association is replicated in 9,291 additional infants (combined P = 3.96 × 10−1

A BamHI 3.7-kilobase (kb) fragment detected by an HLA-DQ β-chain complementary DNA (cDNA) probe and negatively associated with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) was cloned and sequenced to localize the polymorphism to BamHI sites in intervening sequences of an HLA-DQ β-chain gene. A probe of the first intervening sequence (IVS 1) showed the BamHI 3.7-kb fragment in 6 of 17 HLA-DR3/4 contr

Background: Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) occurs as either a 27- or 38-amino acid neuropeptide and belongs to the vasoactive intestinal polypeptide/glucagon/secretin family of peptides. PACAP and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide have a 68% homology of their amino acid sequences and share three B-type G-protein coupled receptors: VPAC1, VPAC2 and PAC1 receptors. Method