The effects of solvent treated PEDOT:PSS buffer layer in organic solar cells

Various treatments on the PEDOT:PSS films were carried out to investigate it’s influence on the conductivity, morphology, transmittance and the corresponding impact of the performance of the organic photovoltaic devices based on the PCPDTBT:PCBM and P3HT:PCBM blends. These processing including doping PEDOT:PSS with DMF and ME solvents and exposing these films to the vapor of DMF and ME solvents, separately. A considerable enhancement of the conductivity and transmittance of PEDOT:PSS was observed after doping solvent into the PEDOT;PSS solution followed by solvent treatment through exposing these films to solvents environment. The best organic PV doped devices based on either PCPDTBT:PCBM or based on P3HT:PCBM with power conversion efficiency were 2.93% compared to 1.87% for the pristine PV devices or 2.79% compared to 1.77% for the pristine devices, respectively. The conductivity improvement was highly influenced by solvent treatment

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate, a prototypic chemopreventative agent for protection against cisplatin-based ototoxicity

AbstractCisplatin-induced ototoxicity is one of the major factors limiting cisplatin chemotherapy. Ototoxicity results from damage to outer hair cells (OHCs) and other regions of the cochlea. At the cellular level, cisplatin increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to cochlear inflammation and apoptosis. Thus, ideal otoprotective drugs should target oxidative stress and inflammatory mechanisms without interfering with cisplatin's chemotherapeutic efficacy. In this study, we show that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is a prototypic agent exhibiting these properties of an effect otoprotective agent. Rats administered oral EGCG demonstrate reduced cisplatin-induced hearing loss, reduced loss of OHCs in the basal region of the cochlea and reduced oxidative stress and apoptotic markers. EGCG also protected against the loss of ribbon synapses associated with inner hair cells and Na+/K+ ATPase α1 in the stria vascularis and spiral ligament. In vitro studies showed that EGCG reduced cisplatin-induced ROS generation and ERK1/2 and signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 (STAT1) activity, but preserved the activity of STAT3 and Bcl-xL. The increase in STAT3/STAT1 ratio appears critical for mediating its otoprotection. EGCG did not alter cisplatin-induced apoptosis of human-derived cancer cells or cisplatin antitumor efficacy in a xenograft tumor model in mice because of its inability to rescue the downregulation of STAT3 in these cells. These data suggest that EGCG is an ideal otoprotective agent for treating cisplatin-induced hearing loss without compromising its antitumor efficacy.</jats:p

The level of imaginative thinking among the gifted students in the ninth and tenth grades at the excellence schools in Al-Tafila governorate as well as the relationship of that with self-efficacy among them

This study mainly aimed at identifying the nature of the relationship between imaginative thinking and self-efficacy among the gifted students at the excellence schools in Al-Tafila governorate as well as detecting the statistically significant differences between the level of imaginative thinking and self-efficacy among the gifted students at the excellence schools according to the variables of gender and grade. In order to achieve the study objectives, the researcher used the descriptive survey approach and the questionnaire was used as the main instrument for data collection. The study sample was chosen by using the method of total survey for the components of the study population that consisted of the ninth and tenth grades students attending regular education at the excellence schools in Al-Tafila governorate with a total of 87 male and female students . the methods of analytical and descriptive statistics were used in order to analyze the data. The study concluded that the overall degree for imaginative thinking among the gifted students in the study sample was high, where the mean for their estimations was ( 3.74 ). The results also showed that the overall degree for  self-efficacy among the gifted students in in the ninth and tenth grades at the excellence schools in Al-Tafila governorate was high, where the mean for their estimations was ( 3.78 ). The results revealed that there is a positive relationship between imaginative thinking and self-efficacy among the gifted students at the excellence schools in Al-Tafila governorate. In the light of the study results , the study recommended about the necessity of giving teachers the necessary training about using the methods of imaginative thinking in the educational process as well as providing the suitable school and classroom environment for using them

A novel scheduling algorithm for improved performance of multi-objective safety-critical WSN using spatial self-organizing feature map

Technological advances in the internet of things (IoT) allowed a low-cost, yet small sensor device to operate with limited power in a dynamic harsh environment where human intervention is impossible. The wireless sensor network (WSN) is an example of the IoT in which physical devices’ software and sensors can interconnect to provide application services. It is important that such applications be dependable to meet the required quality of service (QoS) and function as expected. Consequently, the multi-objective optimization (MOO) problem in WSNs aims to address the trade-off among coverage, connectivity, and network lifetime requirements. Node scheduling is one approach of many used to optimize energy in WSNs. The contribution of this work is the proposal of a self-organizing feature map (SOFM) to enhance the node scheduling in WSNs. The proposed SOFM node-scheduling algorithm aims to spatially explore the state space domain and obtain an optimal solution. In our experiment, the proposed SOFM node-scheduling algorithm is evaluated against a comparable algorithm, namely the BAT node-scheduling algorithm, via MATLAB simulator. The results showed that the SOFM node-scheduling algorithm outperformed the latter by 27% and 28% for the maximum and minimum coverage, respectively, with similar performance of 99% of connectivity and network lifetime

The Effect of The Strategy of The Memory Game on The Achievement of Chemistry Among the First Intermediate Grade Students

The present study aimed to know “the effect of the memory game strategy on the achievement of chemistry among first-grade intermediate students.” To achieve this, the researchers chose the Al-Ma'moun Intermediate School for Boys affiliated to the Baghdad Education Directorate Al-Karkh / 1. ) Students for the experimental group and (33) students for the control group, and the researchers formulated (180) behavioral objectives within the levels of (remembering, comprehension, application, analysis) according to Bloom's classification of the cognitive domain, and the researchers prepared an achievement test consisting of (40) objective items Of the multiple choice type, and its psychometric properties were confirmed, and after processing the data statistically by using the T-test for two independent samples, the study reached the superiority of the experimental group who studied chemistry according to the memory game strategy in the achievement test of chemistry over the control group for those who studied on According to the usual method, and after interpreting the results, recommendations and proposals are drawn up

Synthetic and mechanistic studies of cyclopropenes

PhD Thesis1,2-Dehalogenation of 1,1,2,2-tetrahalocyclopropanes (A, y= Cl, ' X= OMe, Ar) by reaction with one equiv. of methyl-lithium at, 0-20 OC leads' to 1,2-dichlorocyclopropenes (B, X= OMe, Ar); the pentachloride (A, X=Y= Cl) also -react by 1,2-dechlorination to give (B, X= Cl), whereas, the bromide (A, X= Cl, Y= Br) apparently undergoes a 1,3-dehalogenation on reaction with two mol. equiv. of methyl lithium at -70 0C, leading eventually to the cyclobutene (C). The cyclopropenes (13, X= Cl, OMe, Ar) undergo ring-opening at 0-20 OC and in principle produce two stereoisomeric carbenes (D) and (E). Reaction of the cyclopropene (ß, X= Ph) with methyl methacrylate leads predominantly to cyclopropane (F), the structure of which was established by an X-ray crystallographic study. This isomer is apparently derived by strapping of the - carbene (E, X= Ph) rather than (D, X= Ph) Moreover, the ester and alkene substituents are obtained with a cis-stereochemistry. A minor product derived by addition of (D, X= Ph) is also thought to have cis-stereochemistry of ester and vinyl groups. The products derived from the corresponding cyclopropenes (B, X= Cl, OMe) reflect an even more selective trapping of the carbenes (E, X= Cl, OMe). Studies of the relative rates of cyclopropanation' of a standard series of alkyl-substituted alkenes by the carbene derived from (B, X= OMe) showed that the reactivities of this carbene do not give a good "linear correlation with those of (: CC'2); however, they do give a linear correlation when compared to (G). The relative rates of formation of (H) when (I, Y=H, Me, OMe, CF3) were allowed to ring open in the presence of an excess of 2,3-dimethylbut-2-ene gave a good linear correlation with the aI constant for the substituent. Dehydrochlorination of the derived cyclopropanes provides easy access to two series of allylidene cyclopropanes, e. g., (J) and (K). 1.2-Dehalogenation of 1.1.2-trihalocyclopropanes by reaction with one mol. equiv. of methyl lithium leads to I -halocyclopropenes. The latter reacts with second equiv. of the reagent under more vigorous conditions by a lithium halogen exchange, and the resulting lithiocyclopropenes could be trapped by (R)-(+)- or (S)-(-)-methyloxirane to give the alcohols (L) and (M), which are converted to the optically active methylenefuran (N) and dihydropyran (0) respectively by reaction with bromine or with acid.Iraqi governmen

Enhancing artificial intelligence in advanced database systems for Baghdad\u27s urban transportation management

The issue of transportation in Iraqi cities, particularly Baghdad, is multifaceted and intricate, largely due to the horizontal expansion that puts pressure on services and exacerbates traffic congestion and bottlenecks. The ever-growing population and lack of regulation regarding vehicle imports further compound the situa-tion, making urban transportation in Iraq a challenging problem to address. The digital revolution has ush-ered in a new era of civilization, marked by significant advancements in communication technology and information systems. This transformation has led to the widespread adoption of communication and infor-mation technology in various sectors, including transportation management. However, the successful im-plementation of digital transportation initiatives requires the collection and organization of extensive data, which is then used to develop graphic and visual software technology, create communication networks, and define new functions for visual and audio files. In this digital age, transportation management has evolved into an interdisciplinary field that leverages the insights from various scientific domains to develop and pro-duce digital maps. The primary objective of digital organization is to recreate reality in a virtual environ-ment, enabling the manipulation of images and the seamless integration of locations beyond geographical boundaries. &nbsp

The Role of the Dictionary in Teaching English as a Foreign Language with Special Reference to English-Arabic Dictionaries

The existing bilingual dictionaries are ill-equipped to satisfy any but the general needs of the learner. As soon as they are applied to the special needs of a certain category of learners, they are certain to reveal functional inadequacies. Some of these inadequacies are inherent in the structure of the bilingual dictionary (Bujas, 1980); others are external; others are inherent in the two languages involved. In order to improve this unsatisfactory situation, new dictionaries especially designed to answer the needs of the learner should exist. A dictionary for foreign learners should not be a tool for comprehension only. It should also meet the communicative needs of the learner. It should not only tell him what is possible but also what is impossible, taking into consideration the findings of error analysis of that type of learner and other relevant disciplines. The linguistic background of the learner should be taken into consideration. In this study an attempt is made to suggest improvements in the existing English-Arabic dictionaries which claim to be designed for learning English as a foreign language. It is also hoped that the proposal included in the study will lead to the advancement of pedagogical dictionaries in general and constitute adequate evaluation criteria for teachers to base their recommendation on and for advanced learners to decide which dictionary to buy. Chapter One explores the relationship between lexicography and language learning and how they affect each other. In Chapter Two a revision of the previous classifications of dictionaries is provided to show that no serious attempt has ever been made to classify pedagogical dictionaries and how they should be. New ideas are presented for a sound classification which is intended not to classify the existing dictionaries but to show how learners' dictionaries should be compiled. Chapter Three deals with the need for meaning discrimination in bilingual dictionaries and how it is achieved in the existing dictionaries. New proposals are set out. Chapter Four deals with the phonological information in bilingual dictionaries. The attitude taken here is that the dictionary should indicate the phonological behaviour of a word within a context. Intonation should also be indicated. New proposals are set out. Chapter Five deals with grammar and the dictionary. The attitude taken is that the dictionary should provide morphological and syntactic information. But the linguistic background of the learner should be taken into consideration in deciding the type, amount and the way of presentation. The grammatical information in English-Arabic dictionaries is analysed. New solutions are proposed. Chapter Six presents the problem of usage. The stand taken here is that dictionaries should tell the learner on which occasions words are appropriate for use and when they are not, through the use of codes and glosses. Chapter Seven deals with the problem of lexical combinations and how they are handled by dictionaries. Bilingual dictionaries limit themselves to words in isolation. They often ignore the lexical combination that a word may enter into such as collocations, idioms and compounds