Linear Quantitative Relationship Research Articles

Number of Mismatches and Length of Longest Match Correlate with Alignment Score in Swalign Built-in Function in MATLAB

Understanding how one sequence relates to another at the nucleotide or amino acid level allows the derivation of new knowledge regarding the provenance of particular sequence as well as the determination of consensus sequence motifs that informs biological conservation at the sequence level. To this end, local or multiple sequence alignments tools in bioinformatics have been developed to automatically profile two or more nucleotide or amino acid sequence in search of matches in stretches of nucleotides or amino acid sequence that yield an alignment. While alignment score is a common metric for assessing alignment quality, relative difference between alignment scores does not readily correlate with concrete measures such as number of mismatches and length of longest match in alignment. Thus, using swalign local sequence alignment function in MATLAB on 200 alignments between RNA-seq sequence read and reference Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655 genome sequence in the sense and antisense direction, this work sought to shed some light on how alignment score from swalign correlates with number of mismatches and length of longest match. Results revealed that number of mismatches negatively correlate with alignment score; thereby, validating theoretical predictions that larger number of mismatches would result in a poorer alignment and lower alignment score. However, dependence of alignment score on other factors such as length of longest match and gap penalty from opening an alignment gap prevents linear relationship to be obtained between number of mismatches and alignment score. On the other hand, length of longest match was found to positively correlate with alignment score as predicted from theoretical understanding. But, data obtained revealed that clusters of data points gather at two regions of the scatter plot involving short matches and low alignment score, as well as long matches and high alignment score. Such clustering and sparseness of data points between the two clusters preclude the elucidation of a linear quantitative relationship between length of longest match and alignment score. Overall, dependence of alignment score of swalign on number of mismatches and length of longest match in alignment match theoretical predictions; thereby, validating the utility of alignment score in indicating the qualitative quality of alignment. However, given that alignment score inherently depends on a multitude of factors, users could not easily discern the quantitative difference in mismatches and length of longest match from relative differences between two alignment scores. Such problems are unlikely to be resolved given the near impossibility of obtaining quantitative linear relationship correlating either number of mismatches or length of longest match with alignment score of a sequence alignment tool.

Use of an Active Canopy Sensor Mounted on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to Monitor the Growth and Nitrogen Status of Winter Wheat

Using remote sensing to rapidly acquire large-area crop growth information (e.g., shoot biomass, nitrogen status) is an urgent demand for modern crop production; unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) acts as an effective monitoring platform. In order to improve the practicability and efficiency of UAV based monitoring technique, four field experiments involving different nitrogen (N) rates (0–360 kg N ha−1) and seven winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties were conducted at different eco-sites (Sihong, Rugao, and Xinghua) during 2015–2019. A multispectral active canopy sensor (RapidSCAN CS-45; Holland Scientific Inc., Lincoln, NE, USA) mounted on a multirotor UAV platform was used to collect the canopy spectral reflectance data of winter wheat at key growth stages, three growth parameters (leaf area index (LAI), leaf dry matter (LDM), plant dry matter (PDM)) and three N indicators (leaf N accumulation (LNA), plant N accumulation (PNA) and N nutrition index (NNI)) were measured synchronously. The quantitative linear relationships between spectral data and six growth indices were systematically analyzed. For monitoring growth and N nutrition status at Feekes stages 6.0–10.0, 10.3–11.1 or entire growth stages, red edge ratio vegetation index (RERVI), red edge chlorophyll index (CIRE) and difference vegetation index (DVI) performed the best among the red edge band-based and red-based vegetation indices, respectively. Across all growth stages, DVI was highly correlated with LAI (R2 = 0.78), LDM (R2 = 0.61), PDM (R2 = 0.63), LNA (R2 = 0.65) and PNA (R2 = 0.73), whereas the relationships between RERVI (R2 = 0.62), CIRE (R2 = 0.62) and NNI had high coefficients of determination. The developed models performed better in monitoring growth indices and N status at Feekes stages 10.3–11.1 than Feekes stages 6.0–10.0. To sum it up, the UAV-mounted active sensor system is able to rapidly monitor the growth and N nutrition status of winter wheat and can be deployed for UAV-based remote-sensing of crops.

Pressure transient behavior and flow regimes characteristics of vertical commingled well with vertical combined boundary: A field case in XC gas field of northwest Sichuan Basin, China

The multilayered deposition is the main feature of the XC gas reservoir in the northwestern Sichuan Basin. The boundaries among layers of the XC gas reservoir is different. In this paper, we propose an extended pressure transient analysis model for vertical commingle well, considering different boundary radii and boundary types, to capture the Vertical Combined Boundary (VCB) effect on the pressure transient behavior and flow regime characteristics.The analytical solution is yielded by the Laplace transform, Bessel functions, Duhamel's superposition principle, and Stehfest inversion algorithm, and new flow regimes under different boundary combinations are identified by the pressure derivative curve. Taking the dual-layer VCB model as a type example, nine combinations of boundaries are analyzed. Compared with the current vertical commingled well model with the same boundary radii or single boundary types, this model has novel flow regimes controlled by the VCB.The research results indicate that the pressure derivative type curve during the novel flow regimes stage can diagnosis the VCB type. On the one hand, there are quantitative linear relationships between the pressure derivative feature value and interlayer heterogeneity of the VCB model with the same boundary radii. These linear relationships provide a new perspective to quickly capture interlay heterogeneity through the of the pressure derivative feature value. One the other hand, the pressure behavior and flow regimes of the VCB model with different boundary radii obey the successive superposition rule. This rule provides a method to recognize the VCB type with different boundary radii based on that of the VCB with the same boundary radii.Finally, a field case from the northwestern Sichuan Basin gas reservoir is discussed in detail to exhibit the workflow of our model application and validate the capability of our model.

A simple liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric method for fast detection of hydrogen sulfide based on thiolysis of 7-nitro-2, 1, 3-benzoxadiazole ether

The long identified toxic gas, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which has also been confirmed as the third gaseous signaling molecule following NO and CO, plays important roles in various physiological and pathological process. The current most established quantification method for H2S is HPLC method coupled with fluorescence detection after derivatization with a costly fluorescent reagent, Monobromobimane (MBB). However, The MBB method is characterized by strict reaction condition, long reaction time, tedious operation, and inconsistent reported results. In this study, based on the thiolysis reaction of 7-nitro-2, 1, 3-benzoxadiazole (NBD) ether, the commonly used chromatographic modifier 4-chloro-7-nitro-2,1,3- benzoxadiazole (NBDCl) and four probes (NBDOMe, NBDOEt, NBDOTFE and NBDOCMR) synthesized from NBDCl were tested as alternatives for fast quantification of H2S by LC-MS/MS. The reaction product between NBD ethers/NBDCl and H2S showed special pink color visible to the naked eye and was easy to synthesize and separate in lab; it also showed good retention on common chromatographic columns and high instrument response; therefore it is a good determinand. After establishment of LC-MS/MS methods for all the related compounds, the reaction conditions were optimized for all the probes with H2S. Then the stability, selectivity, reaction rate, sensitivity and quantitative linear relationship between the reaction product and H2S concentration were studied for each probe. Finally, NBDOEt was selected for LC-MS/MS detection of H2S. In comparision with the MBB method, the established NBDOEt method showed matched sensitivity and linearity, better selectivity, and higher repeatability; and had the advantages of easy operation, simple reaction condition, and cheap raw materials. The method was successfully validated and applied to determination of Na2S content in Na2S∙9H2O bulk drug and injection. In conclusion, NBDOEt is a promising option for quantification of H2S in abiotic matrix.

Novel ABTS-dot-blot method for the assessment of antioxidant properties of food packaging

Abstract The new ABTS-dot-blot method for the direct determination of antioxidant activity of active packaging that is in contact with foodstuffs has been developed. The usefulness of the new method was verified with the use of agarose, pork gelatin, bacterial cellulose and cellulose-chitosan films with incorporated standard antioxidant – Trolox or plant phytochemicals derived from three types of berry juices (chokeberry, blue-berried honeysuckle, rowanberry) or green tea. The plant components used for preparation of films were characterized by antioxidant profiling with the use of HPLC coupled with post-column derivatization with ABTS. The most abundant antioxidants were polyphenols, mainly anthocyanins, hydroxycinnamates and flavan-3-ols. The antioxidant properties of different types of films studied were evaluated by typical cuvette spectrophotometric ABTS test or by the novel method employing ABTS radical stabilised in an agarose gel. The results obtained for the Trolox containing films showed quantitative linear relationship between antioxidant content and the degree of ABTS bleaching in agarose gel. The results of both standard spectrophotometric method as well as ABTS-dot-blot approach indicated that gelatin, bacterial cellulose and chitosan on their own possessed antioxidant activity, which was substantially increased (6–10 times) by the addition of phytochemicals during film preparation. The highest antioxidant activity was observed for microbial cellulose films, which were prepared on the basis of material obtained during the kombucha drink production.

Influence of Structural Parameters on the Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering of Au Nanoarrays.

As an important research topic of surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), periodic metal nanoarrays have attracted remarkable attention due to their superior properties, such as excellent enhancing ability, and high structural homogeneity and stability. In this work, periodic Au nanostructures with variable repetitive unit size, Au nanoparticle size, and gap sizes are fabricated by electron beam lithography on SiO₂/Si substrates to investigate the influence of these structural parameters on SERS performances. The SERS intensity is found to increase linearly with decreasing repetitive unit size (increase of Au nanoparticle number density), while shows no obvious dependence on the Au nanoparticle size. A SERS enhancement factor of 6.6 × 105 is obtained for Au arrays with a repetitive unit size of 200 nm. The gap size does not affect the SERS intensity when it is over 75 nm, and exhibits an obvious enhancement effect when it is below 25 nm. A linear quantitative relationship between the Raman intensity and analyte concentrations of R6G, as well as a limit of detection of 10-11 mol/L was achieved for an Au nanoparticle array with gap size of 25 nm.

Spatial Distance Correlates With Genetic Distance in Diffuse Glioma.

Background: Treatment effectiveness and overall prognosis for glioma patients depend heavily on the genetic and epigenetic factors in each individual tumor. However, intra-tumoral genetic heterogeneity is known to exist and needs to be managed. Currently, evidence for genetic changes varying spatially within the tumor is qualitative, and quantitative data is lacking. We hypothesized that a greater genetic diversity or “genetic distance” would be observed for distinct tumor samples taken with larger physical distances between them.Methods: Stereotactic biopsies were obtained from untreated primary glioma patients as part of a clinical trial between 2011 and 2016, with at least one biopsy pair collected in each case. The physical (Euclidean) distance between biopsy sites was determined using coordinates from imaging studies. The tissue samples underwent whole exome DNA sequencing and epigenetic methylation profiling and genomic distances were defined in three separate ways derived from differences in number of genes, copy number variations (CNV), and methylation profiles.Results: Of the 31 patients recruited to the trial, 23 were included in DNA methylation analysis, for a total of 71 tissue samples (14 female, 9 male patients, age range 21–80). Samples from an 8 patient subset of the 23 evaluated patients were further included in whole exome and copy number variation analysis. Physical and genomic distances were found to be independently and positively correlated for each of the three genomic distance measures. The correlation coefficients were 0.63, 0.65, and 0.35, respectively for (a) gene level mutations, (b) copy number variation, and (c) methylation status. We also derived quantitative linear relationships between physical and genomic distances.Conclusion: Primary brain tumors are genetically heterogeneous, and the physical distance within a given glioma correlates to genomic distance using multiple orthogonal genomic assessments. These data should be helpful in the clinical diagnostic and therapeutic management of glioma, for example by: managing sampling error, and estimating genetic heterogeneity using simple imaging inputs.

Study on the pyrolysis characteristic of mild liquefaction solid product of Hami coal and CO2 gasification of its char

Efficient utilization of mild liquefaction solid product (MLS) of Hami coal is critical to improve energy efficiency of the whole process, which accounts for >30 wt% of raw coal. In this work, the structure features of MLS were characterized by the solid-stage 13C NMR (SS-NMR) and its pyrolysis behavior was measured by a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) coupled with a mass spectrometer (MS). Additionally, the chars of MLS were prepared in a quartz tube fixed-bed reactor at different temperatures. Then the physico-chemical structure and CO2 gasification reactivity of the MLS chars were measured by multiple methods, including Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and TGA. According to the SS-NMR analysis, the aromaticity of MLS is relatively high even though it contains ca. 47.90% aliphatic carbon. The evaporation of hexane soluble fraction (HS) and cleavage of CalCal and CarCal bonds are dominant in the process of MLS pyrolysis according to the TGA-MS analysis. With the increase of final pyrolysis temperature, the yield of char and H/C atomic ratio gradually decrease from 69.4% to 54.9% and from 0.664 to 0.110, respectively. In addition, the side chains and functional groups of char gradually reduce, the char becomes dense and dim, and the degree of ordering of char increases. Well quantitative linear relationships (R2 > 0.95) between gasification reactivity, carbon crystalline stacking layer number (n) and H/C atomic ratio are established, which could be used to finely evaluate the CO2 gasification reactivity of MLS and pyrolysis chars.

Quantitative visualization of intracellular lipids concentration in a microalgae cell based on Raman micro-spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics

An in vivo, label-free, nondestructive, and quantitative visualization of the intracellular lipids concentration in individual microalgae cells under nitrogen stress was obtained by integrating Raman chemical imaging and multiple regression analysis. Lipids and biomass were significantly affected by nitrogen stress and induction time. Especially, in the first four days under stress, the higher the stress intensity, the faster the increase in the lipid concentration. A quantitative linear relationship between the Raman spectral response and the lipid concentration of colonial microalgae was established with satisfactory results (Rp2 = 0.925). Characteristic Raman bands for quantitative determination of lipids were then extracted based on competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS). Furthermore, the visualization of intracellular lipid concentration derived from the quantitative linear regression model outperformed that by integration of Raman intensity at a fingerprint band (1266 or 1445 cm−1). This quantitative visualization of intracellular lipids concentration could effectively provide the spatial and temporal dynamic characteristics of intracellular lipids in microalgae cells under nitrogen stress, which should be helpful in revealing intracellular lipid metabolism and accumulation for the utilization of microalgae biomass in biofuel production.

Thermodynamic Hydricity of [FeFe]-Hydrogenases.

After remaining elusive for many years, terminal hydride states have now been identified in several native and mutant [FeFe]-hydrogenases. In this Perspective, hydride states of [FeFe]-hydrogenases are considered on the basis of hydricity, a thermodynamic parameter that has been instrumental for the rational design of synthetic molecular catalysts. Importantly, it is shown how the hydricity of [FeFe]-hydrogenases can inspire future research efforts in both the study of hydrogenases and the design of molecular catalysts. By using hydricity, quantitative linear free energy relationships can be developed to relate the driving force and rate of different [FeFe]-hydrogenase variants. Further development of these correlations across a wide range of hydrogenase variants can potentially lead to new insights into the structure-activity relationships of [FeFe]-hydrogenases. The hydricity of [FeFe]-hydrogenase is also compared to select transition metal hydride complexes, which emphasizes the strong electronic communication between the diiron active site and the extended protein scaffold of the enzyme. A mechanism is proposed for how key hydrogen bonding interactions might affect the hydricity of [FeFe]-hydrogenases, providing a basis for the emulation of these structural features in synthetic molecular complexes.

Quantifying association between liver tumor incidence and early-stage liver weight increase - An NTP data analysis.

Two-year toxicology and carcinogenesis rodent studies conducted at the National Toxicology Program (NTP) are used to identify potential adverse health effects in humans due to chemical exposure, including cancer. Liver tumor, the most frequently diagnosed tumor type of chemically induced neoplastic effects documented in NTP's carcinogenicity studies, is usually difficult to be detected at early stage due to the inconspicuous symptoms. However, the abnormal growth of liver cells can lead to liver weight increase, so it is hypothesized that liver tumor incidence is associated with early stage liver weight increase. In this study, the association between liver weight increase and liver tumor incidence are quantified by (1) calculating the correlation coefficient of and (2) building quantitative linear relationship between benchmark dose estimates derived from these two types of data collected from NTP studies. Together with 151 chemical/species/sex combinations of liver tumor data showing positive evidence collected from 76 NTP long-term studies, short-term liver weight data reported in the same NTP report were extracted to be paired with the liver tumor data for the analyses. Results show that the estimated correlation coefficients (as high as 0.78) along with the adequately fitted linear models suggest that the association between relative liver weight increase and aggregated liver tumor incidence are relatively strong. Additional analyses focused on some more specific situations (e.g., specific tumor type or specific strain/sex combination) further confirmed the strong association. Given the design of this study, the interpretation of the findings is not that liver weight increase can be used to predict liver tumor incidence, instead, evident increase in liver weight might be used as a reason to prioritize the test article for a two-year toxicology and carcinogenesis study.

One-pot synthesis of poly (acrylic acid)-stabilized Fe3O4 nanocrystal clusters for the simultaneously qualitative and quantitative detection of biomarkers in lateral flow immunoassay

Lateral flow immunoassay (LFIAs) has found widespread applications in point-of-care testing (POCT). However, conventional LFIAs based on gold nanoparticles can only provide limited information (qualitative or semi-quantitative information) and suffer from low sensitivity. To address this issue, we developed a Fe3O4 nanocrystal cluster-based highly sensitive LFIAs for the simultaneously qualitative and quantitative detection of trace-level biomarkers. The synthesis of poly (acrylic acid)-stabilized superparamagnetic nanocrystal clusters (PAA-MNCs) is a one-pot, simple and convenient technique, and the polyelectrolyte coating provides enough stability, good dispersity and downstream conjugation sites. Using these PAA-MNCs as a label nanomaterial in LFIAs, a model biomarker (amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) antibody) was detected qualitatively and quantitatively. The results show that tests have a qualitative detection limit of 100 pg/mL and a quantitative linear relationship between the magnetic signal and antibody concentration (20–8000 pg/mL) under the optimized experimental conditions. The developed LFIA based on PAA-MNCs for NT-proBNP could be used for the clinical assessment of heart failure, offering tremendous potential for personalized medicine.

Ti3C2Tx on copper and nickel foams with improved electrochemical performance produced via solution processing for supercapacitor

Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of Ti3C2Tx electrodes using solution processing. Two-dimensional (2D) nanometer Ti3C2Tx flakes are site-aggregated on copper and nickel foam papers with a reconstituted threedimensional (3D) structure consisting of overlapping and open-pore 2D flakes. When Ti3C2Tx was used as electrochemical capacitor electrodes in 1M Na2SO4 solution, the capacitances were comparable to literature values. There is a quantitative linear relationship between the capacitance and foam thicknesses. Given the process scalability and the morphological control that is possible, these results provide a promising road map for convenient and economical supercapacitors.

Investigation of the effective parameters on the gas-solvent partition coefficient of trans -stilbene using solvent-solubility approaches

Abstract Stilbenes and its various derivatives have been studied in different branches of science, because of their unique properties such as fluorescence, phosphorescence, photophysical, photochrome, photochemical and various biological properties. Despite of these potentials, one of the problems of stilbenes is their poor solubility which limits some of their applications. In the current study, quantitative structure property relationship (QSPR) and linear solvation energy relationship (LSER) were used to investigate the solubility of trans-stilbene as a sample solute in organic phase. LSER is an approach which deals with the effects of solvent–solute interactions on physicochemical properties and reactivity parameters. A five parametric QSPR and a LSER model contains five empirical scales was proposed to predict and descript Ostwald solubility coefficient of trans-stilbene in 44 organic solvents. The squared correlation coefficient of different training and test sets in the proposed model were above 0.84 and 0.87 respectively in the LSER model and above 0.90 and 0.86 in QSPR model. Description of scales involved in the proposed models obtained valuable information regarding the solubility of trans-stilbene in organic phase. Donor strength of solvents, solvent acidity, polarity of solvents, dipolarity and polarizability are some of important properties and thus it was concluded that polar interactions has a principal role in the solubility of trans-stilbene.

Sci‐Fri AM: MRI and Diagnostic Imaging ‐ 05: Comparison of Input Function Measurements from DCE and MOLLI

Dynamic contrast‐enhanced (DCE)‐MRI is a technique for obtaining tissue hemodynamic information (e.g. tumours). Despite widespread clinical application of DCE‐MRI, the technique suffers from a lack of standardization and accuracy, especially with respect to the concentration‐versus‐time of gadolinium (Gd) in feeding arteries (the input function, IF). MR phase has a linear quantitative relationship with Gd concentration ([Gd]), making it ideal for measuring the first‐pass of the IF, but is not considered accurate in the steady‐state washout. Modified Look‐Locker Inversion Recovery (MOLLI) is a fast and accurate method to measure T1 and has been validated to quantify typical [Gd] ranges experienced in the washout of the IF.Two different methods to measure the IF for DCE‐MRI were compared: 1) conventional phase‐versus‐time (“Phase‐only”) and 2) phase‐versus‐time combined with pre‐ and post‐DCE MOLLI T1 measurements (“Phase+MOLLI”). The IF obtained from Phase+MOLLI was calculated from MOLLI T1 values and known relaxivity, then added to the Phase‐only acquisition with the washout IF subtracted. A significant difference was observed between IF values for [Gd] between the Phase‐only and Phase+MOLLI acquisitions (P = 0.03). To ensure the IFs from MOLLI T1s were accurate, it was compared to [Gd] obtained from “gold‐standard” inversion recovery (IR). MOLLI showed excellent agreement with IR when imaged in static phantoms (r2 = 0.997, P = 0.001). The Phase+MOLLI IF was more accurate than the Phase‐only IF in measuring the washout. The Phase+MOLLI acquisition may therefore provide a DCE‐MRI reference standard that could lead to better clinical diagnoses.

요양병원 입원 노인환자의 구강건강인식도와 구강건강관련 삶의 질에 관한 연구

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between oral health perception and oral health-related quality of life-14(OHIP-14) in a geriatric hospital. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was completed by 230 elderly people in a long-term care institution. The questionnaire was consisted of items on general characteristics, oral health perception and OHIP-14. Except incomplete answers, 226 data were analyzed statistically with one-way ANOVA, t-test, Pearson's correlation coefficient and post hoc Tukey test and ANOVA when significance was set at 0.05. Results: The OHIP-14 showed a negative linear relationship(p<0.01) of r=-0.272 with the oral health perception. Among the subgroups of the OHIP-14, quantitative linear relationship(p<0.01) was shown in functional limitation(r=0.822), physical pain(r=0.825), psychological discomfort(r=0.568), physical disability(r=0.895), psychological disability(r=0.652), social disability(r=0.804) and handicap(r=0.818). Conclusions: In order to improve the oral health perception and OHIP-14 in a geriatric hospital, it is necessary to develop continuously a variety of oral health education and systematic oral health promotion program.

Electrochemical detection of free chlorine at inkjet printed silver electrodes

A low-cost, reliable and sensitive electrochemical method for free chlorine analysis in water using inkjet printed silver electrodes is presented. Free chlorine detection was based on linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) analysis of AgCl/Ag2O films formed over an inkjet printed silver electrode by the spontaneous reaction between silver and free chlorine species (i.e. HClO and ClO−) present in solution. The formation of AgCl/Ag2O films was studied and characterized by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. LSV characterization demonstrated a quantitative linear relationship between the amount of AgCl/Ag2O formed and the concentration of free chlorine in water within a range from 1 to 100 ppm. After optimization of several parameters (e.g. scan rate, reaction time, starting potential), lowest detectable free chlorine concentration was 0.4 ppm (by standard addition method), while the limit of detection (S/N = 3) was equal to 2 ppm, with a sensitivity of 30 μC/ppm. The validation of the proposed methodology was performed by comparison with the standard N,N-diethylparaphenylenediamine (DPD) method for analyzing swimming pool water samples. Finally, it was demonstrated that reproducible and disposable silver electrodes could be easily prepared by inkjet printing in a large scale and in any required geometry to fit on-line and on-site free chlorine analyses requirements.

Significance of Average Domain Purity and Mixed Domains on the Photovoltaic Performance of High‐Efficiency Solution‐Processed Small‐Molecule BHJ Solar Cells

Whereas the role of molecularly mixed domains in organic photovoltaic devices for charge generation is extensively discussed in the literature, the impact on charge recombination and thus fill factor is largely unexplored. Here, a combination of soft X‐ray techniques enables the quantification of phases at multiple length scales to reveal their role regarding charge recombination in a highly efficient solution processed small molecule system 7,7′‐(4,4‐bis(2‐ethylhexyl)‐4H‐silolo[3,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene‐2,6‐diyl)bis(6‐fluoro‐4‐(5′‐hexyl‐[2,2′‐bithiophen]‐5‐yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole) (p‐DTS(FBTTh2)2) . A quantitative (linear) relationship between the average composition variations and the device fill‐factor is observed. The results establish the complex interrelationship between average phase purity, domain size, and structural order and highlight the requirement of achieving sufficient phase purities to diminish bimolecular and geminate recombination in solution processed small molecule solar cells.

Coulomb crystal mass spectrometry in a digital ion trap

We present a mass spectrometric technique for identifying the masses and relative abundances of Coulomb-crystallized ions held in a linear Paul trap. A digital radio-frequency wave form is employed to generate the trapping potential, as this can be cleanly switched off, and static dipolar fields are subsequently applied to the trap electrodes for ion ejection. Close to 100% detection efficiency is demonstrated for ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}$ and ${\mathrm{CaF}}^{+}$ ions from bicomponent ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}\ensuremath{-}{\mathrm{CaF}}^{+}$ Coulomb crystals prepared by the reaction of ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}$ with ${\mathrm{CH}}_{3}\mathrm{F}.$ A quantitative linear relationship is observed between ion number and the corresponding integrated time-of-flight (TOF) peak, independent of the ionic species. The technique is applicable to a diverse range of multicomponent Coulomb crystals---demonstrated here for ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{NH}{}_{3}{}^{+}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{NH}{}_{4}{}^{+}$ and ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{CaOH}{}^{+}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{CaOD}{}^{+}$ crystals---and will facilitate the measurement of ion-molecule reaction rates and branching ratios in complicated reaction systems.

Study on Demand Design and its Value Measurement of Automobile Customer

On the basis of the demand hierarchy theory and through the questionnaire survey, the rational consumption demand characteristics of automobile customers were obtained in the paper. According to the research objectives, and taking Huai’an automobile consumption market for example, the results of statistical analysis with the investigation content of age, income and career were given out. After establishing the value statistics model based on customer demand, and taking automobile insurance for instance, using the multivariate linear regression method and going through F checkout, the linear quantitative relationship between automobile insurance and automobile age, family income, the cost of buying an automobile was obtained, and the results were analyzed. A large number of sample statistics indicated that the service value link mainly was the link of automobile insurance, beauty decoration and maintenance.