Achieving Balanced Crystallization Kinetics of Donor and Acceptor by Sequential‐Blade Coated Double Bulk Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells

Sequential deposition has great potential to achieve high performance in organic solar cells due to the resulting well‐controlled vertical phase separation. In this work, double bulk heterojunction organic solar cells are fabricated by sequential‐blade cast in ambient conditions. Probed by the in situ grazing incidence X‐ray diffraction and in situ UV–vis absorption measurements, the seq‐blade system exhibits a different tendency from each of the binary films during the film formation process. Due to the extensive aggregation of FOIC, the binary PBDB‐T:FOIC film displays a strong and large phase separation, resulting in low current density (J_sc) and unsatisfactory power conversion efficiency. In the seq‐blade cast system, the bottom layer PBDB‐T:IT‐M produces many crystal nuclei for the top layer PBDB‐T:FOIC, so the PBDB‐T molecules are able to crystallize easily and quickly. Balanced crystallization kinetics between polymer and small molecule and an ideal percolation network in the film are observed. In addition, the balanced crystallization kinetics are favorable toward realizing lower recombination loss through charge transport processes.     

Fecundity,nymphal development and longevity of field‐collected tropical bedbugs,Cimex hemipterus

This study examined the fecundity, oviposition, nymphal development and longevity of field‐collected samples of the tropical bedbug, Cimex hemipterus (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Cimicidae). Under environmental conditions of 26±2°C, 70 ± 5% relative humidity and a 12‐h photoperiod, with bloodmeals provided by a human host, six strains of tropical bedbug had a fecundity of up to 50 eggs per lifetime, over 11–14 oviposition cycles. Increased feeding frequency improved fecundity. After feeding and mating, adult females normally took 2–3 days to produce a first batch of eggs. The oviposition period lasted 2–7 days before cessation of the oviposition cycle. The egg incubation period usually lasted 5–7 days before the emergence of first instars. The nymphs underwent five stadia (the first four of which each took 3–4 days, whereas the last took 4–5 days) before becoming adults at a sex ratio of 1 : 1. More than five bloodmeals were required by the nymphs to ensure a successful moult. Unmated adults lived significantly longer than mated adults (P < 0.05). Unmated females lived up to almost 7 months, but the longevity of mated males and females did not differ significantly (P > 0.05).     

Anatomy of the crocodilian spinal vein

The crocodilian spinal vein is remarkably robust yet historically overlooked. Using corrosion casting, we describe the anatomy of this vessel and its connections with the caval and hepatic venous systems in representatives from four crocodilian genera. The spinal vein arises from an enlarged occipital sinus over the medulla and extends the entire length of the vertebral column. Unlike in squamate reptiles, the spinal vein is single (nonplexiform), voluminous, and situated dorsal to the spinal cord, and plexi lateral to the cord span between emerging intercostal veins. The connections with the other venous systems are otherwise similar to those in other tetrapods. The overall anatomy of this vessel and its abundant connections with the other venous systems indicate it likely plays a primary role in returning blood to the heart from all parts of the body. Preliminary studies of function suggest that this vessel could also play an adaptive role during basking and diving.     

Endocranial cast and morphology of the olfactory bulb of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Amphipithecus mogaungensis</Emphasis> (latest middle Eocene of Myanmar)

A detailed endocranial cast of the olfactory bulb of Amphipithecus mogaungensis, a latest middle Eocene primate from the Pondaung Formation (Myanmar), was studied in comparison with some Paleogene primates, the olfactory bulb of which has been reported. The olfactory bulb of Amphipithecus is located just anterior to the postorbital constriction, that is, within the interorbital septum. It is relatively large and pedunculate, not overlapped by the frontal lobe, and consists of two parallell aligned bodies. The relative volume of the olfactory bulb shows the same pattern as in adapiforms, but the location and bilobed form are more similar to those of omomyoids than of adapiforms. Electronic Publication     

Morphofunctional reconstruction of the brain of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paroxyaena pavlovi</Emphasis> (Hyaenodontidae,Creodonta) based on a natural endocranial cast

The study of a natural endocranial cast of Paroxyaena has shown that its vision was an important system of afferentation, but did not prevail over others, unlike that of Neohyaenodon. The olfaction was much better developed than in Neohyaenodon. The large gyrus prorealis suggests the presence of a long mobile nose. The well-developed sensomotoric cortex is evidence that the forepaw of Paroxyaena showed a high mobility.     

Effects of sandy beach cusps on wrack accumulation,sediment characteristics and macrofaunal assemblages

Beach‐cast marine macroalgae and seagrasses, collectively termed wrack, provide shelter and habitat for beach fauna and can often provide a large input of energy and nutrients to sandy beaches. Wrack deposition on sandy beaches varies spatially and could be affected by morphological features on the beach face such as cusps. This study tested a series of hypotheses regarding the differences in wrack deposits, sediments and macrofaunal assemblages between cusp bays and horns on two beaches in South Australia. Bays had greater cover and larger pieces of wrack than horns. Sediment organic matter content was greater on horns than in bays but mean particle size did not differ consistently between bays and horns. Macrofaunal diversity was higher in bays and this pattern was probably driven by differences in the cover of wrack between bays and horns. Cusp morphology thus influences the distribution of wrack on the beach face, which in turn influences the distribution of macrofauna. Studies of sandy beaches with cusps should therefore be explicitly designed to sample cusp features and associated wrack deposits.     

Branch surface area and its vertical distribution in coastal Douglas-fir

Wood area index (WAI; total surface area of branches and bole per unit of land area) is an important yet often neglected forest structural attribute. Branchwood surface area, in particular, has significant implications for many ecophysiological processes including total respiration and interception of radiation and rainfall. Branch surface area was estimated at the branch-, tree-, and stand-level for 33 Douglas-fir (Pseduotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) plantations in the Oregon Coast Range. Patterns in WAI, leaf area index (LAI; total surface area of needles per unit of land area), tree area index (TAI=WAI+LAI) and various ratios of these dimensions were then investigated. The main axes of primary branches (those attached to the main stem) comprised 82±13% of total branchwood surface area. Tree surface area (needles + woody tissue) increased with increasing tree size and crown length, and decreased with greater intensity of Swiss needle cast (SNC). At the stand-level, woody surface area increased with greater stand density and decreased with more severe SNC, but on average it constituted 29±12% of total tree surface area. Branchwood surface area and bole surface area contributed equally to WAI. The variation in WAI for a given LAI has important implications for radiation and rainfall attenuation in these stands and for accurate partitioning of intercepted radiation between photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic tissues.     

Efficient Non‐Fullerene Organic Photovoltaic Modules Incorporating As‐Cast and Thickness‐Insensitive Photoactive Layers

In this work, a new combination of a wide bandgap polymer poly[4,8‐bis(5‐(2‐ethylhexyl)thiophen‐2‐yl)benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]‐dithiophene‐alt‐N‐(2‐hexyldecyl)‐5′5‐bis[3‐(decylthio)thiophene‐2‐yl]‐2′2‐bithiophene‐3′3‐dicarboximide] (PBTIBDTT) and a non‐fullerene small molecule acceptor based on a bulky seven‐ring fused core (indacenodithieno[3,2‐b]thiophene) end‐capped with 2‐(3‐oxo‐2,3‐dihydroinden‐1‐ylidene)malononitrile groups with one fluorine substituent (ITIC‐F) is proposed, and as‐cast non‐fullerene organic solar cells (NFOSCs) with 11.2% efficiency are achieved. The device efficiencies are also insensitive to the variation of photoactive layer (PAL) thickness and can maintain over 9% efficiency as PAL thickness increases to 350 nm, which is one of the best results for as‐cast organic solar cells. More importantly, non‐fullerene organic photovoltaic (OPV) modules are demonstrated via laser ablation technique for the first time, which delivers a record efficiency of 8.6% (with active area of 3.48 cm²) among large‐area OPV modules. Furthermore, the morphology and performance evolutions of the as‐cast NFOSCs and the ones processed with solvent additive are systematically investigated. The results demonstrate the great advantage of as‐cast solar cells in achieving constant morphology and high performance with thick PALs. The NFOSCs fabricated with simple procedure, insensitive to film thickness and compatible with large‐area OPV modules, show significant potential for application the future.     

U7 snRNAs： A Computational Survey

U7 small nuclear RNA (snRNA) sequences have been described only for a handful of animal species in the past. Here we describe a computational search for func- tional U7 snRNA genes throughout vertebrates including the upstream sequence elements characteristic for snRNAs transcribed by polymerase Ⅱ. Based on the results of this search, we discuss the high variability of U7 snRNAs in both se- quence and structure, and report on an attempt to find U7 snRNA sequences in basal deuterostomes and non-drosophilids insect genomes based on a combination of sequence, structure, and promoter features. Due to the extremely short se- quence and the high variability in both sequence and structure, no unambiguous candidates were found. These results cast doubt on putative U7 homologs in even more distant organisms that are reported in the most recent release of the Rfam database.     

Characterization of organic matter from animal manures after digestion by earthworms

The humification index (HI) values of three different manures and earthworm casts were calculated for three different extractant solutions (0.5M sodium hydroxide, 0.1M sodium pyrophosphate pH 7 and 0.1M sodium pyrophosphate plus 0.1M NaOH). The alkaline sodium pyrophosphate solution was found to be the most suitable because of both its extraction efficiency and the quality of the organic matter extracted which allows a good characterization of the stabilization degree attained by composting. Neutral sodium pyrophosphate extracts also show characteristic HI values for different samples but lower extraction efficiencies. The HI values for sodium hydroxide extracts show only little differences between manures and composts. The good correspondence found between HI data and isoelectric focusing (IEF) patterns confirmed on one side that humification indexes give a quantitative measure of the humification degree, on the other side that IEF is a suitable technique in order to obtain qualitative informations on organic matter stabilization in earthworm casts.