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Background and purpose To carry out an observational epidemiological survey (Studio Morfeo), to determine: (1) the frequency of insomnia in a large Italian population presenting directly to the general physician (GP); (2) the impact of insomnia on the quality of life, on the use of health-care resources and on co-morbidity. Patients and methods The study was accomplished by GPs, trained by sleep specialists accredited by the Italian Association of Sleep Medicine. Only patients spontaneously presenting to their GP for medical problems were surveyed. Each GP was asked to enroll at least five patients across a routine week of medical activity including both morning and afternoon clinics. The first patient of each weekday was recruited after obtaining written consent. According to the responses to the sleep-related questions, patients were classified into three categories: (1) no insomnia, (2) level 1 insomnia with absence of day-time dysfunction and (3) level 2 insomnia with presence of day-time dysfunction. Results A total of 3284 patients were enrolled by 738 GPs in this Italian survey. Insomnia was reported by 64% of all interviewed patients, with 20% classified as level 1 and 44% as level 2. Logistic analysis indicated that depression (odds ratio, 2.70), involvement of >1 organ systems (odds ratio, 1.24), female gender (odds ratio, 1.19), unemployment (odds ratio, 1.18), low education (odds ratio, 1.18) and increasing age (odds ratio, 1.02) were the major risk factors for insomnia. Conclusions Our findings indicate that insomnia is a frequent disturbance in the Italian primary care population, is associated with high risk of co-morbid conditions, and results in increased use of health-care resources.

This chapter illustrates the relationships between structural and optical properties in oligothiophenes. In particular, it highlights the proper functionalization of the thienyl units with oxygen atoms; it is possible to increase the photoluminescence efficiency up to values comparable and even better than those of the best organic materials commonly used as active compounds in light emitting devices. Such a characteristic, together with the high chemical stability and the wide color tunability, makes oligothiophene-5,5'-dioxides excellent candidates not only for applications to electronic devices, but also to optoelectronic devices, such as multi-color LEDs and lasers. Recent achievement of high-performances thiophene-based devices is discussed.

We define landslide Early Warning Systems and present practical guidelines to assist end-users with limited experience in the design of landslide Early Warning Systems (EWSs). In particular, two flow chart-based tools coming from the results of the SafeLand project (7th Framework Program) have been created to make them as simple and general as possible and in compliance with a variety of landslide types and settings at single slope scale. We point out that it is not possible to cover all the real landslide early warning situations that might occur, therefore it will be necessary for end-users to adapt the procedure to local peculiarities of the locations where the landslide EWS will be operated.

Background Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has improved the diagnosis and monitoring of multiple sclerosis (MS). In clinical trials, MRI has been found to detect treatment effects with greater sensitivity than clinical measures; however, clinical and MRI outcomes tend to correlate poorly. Methods In this observational study, patients (n = 550; 18-50 years; relapsing-remitting MS [Expanded Disability Status Scale score ≤4.0]) receiving interferon (IFN) β-1a therapy (44 or 22 µg subcutaneously [sc] three times weekly [tiw]) underwent standardized MRI, neuropsychological and quality-of-life (QoL) assessments over 3 years. In this post hoc analysis, MRI outcomes and correlations between MRI parameters and clinical and functional outcomes were analysed. Results MRI data over 3 years were available for 164 patients. T2 lesion and T1 gadolinium-enhancing (Gd+) lesion volumes, but not black hole (BH) volumes, decreased significantly from baseline to Year 3 (P < 0.0001). Percentage decreases (baseline to Year 3) were greater with the 44 μg dose than with the 22 μg dose for T2 lesion volume (-10.2% vs -4.5%, P = 0.025) and T1 BH volumes (-7.8% vs +10.3%, P = 0.002). A decrease in T2 lesion volume over 3 years predicted stable QoL over the same time period. Treatment with IFN β-1a, 44 μg sc tiw, predicted an absence of cognitive impairment at Year 3. Conclusion Subcutaneous IFN β-1a significantly decreased MRI measures of disease, with a significant benefit shown for the 44 µg over the 22 µg dose; higher-dose treatment also predicted better cognitive outcomes over 3 years.

The products of ligation reaction of a 24 nucleotides long PolyA RNA adsorbed on mica were observed by atomic force microscopy. The occurrence of oligonucleotides at different degrees of polymerization has been quantitatively studied before and after ligation reaction. The microscopy images at the nanoscale show that nonenzymatic ligation of pristine RNA monomers results in the formation of supramolecular aggregates, with prevalence of dimers and tetramers. Analytical conditions were defined allowing the identification, the quantitative evaluation, and their distribution after ligation reaction, also providing an estimate of the degree of hydration of the objects. Such investigation is of particular biological relevance and provides the simplest yet model system for direct investigation of RNA reactions by advanced microscopy.

This article describes the synthesis and properties of the first poly(arylene-vinylene)-based sensitizers for application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The polymers were prepared by the Suzuki-Heck copolymerization of potassium vinyltrifluoroborate (PVTB) with a mixture of dibromoaryl comonomers designed to obtain macromolecules able to bind on to the photoelectrode by means of carboxyphenylene units. The copolymerization reactions were carried out in the presence of an excess of PVTB to lower the molecular weights of the polymers, which were obtained as soluble materials. The polymers poly[(9,9-didodecyl-2,7-fluorenylene)-vinylene-co-(carboxy -2,5-phenylenel-vinylene] (P1), poly[(9,9-didodecyl-2,7-fluo-renylene)-vinylene-co-(carboxy-2,5-phenylene)-vinylene-co-(4,7-benzothiadiazolylene)-vinylene] (P2), and poly[(9,9-didodecy12,7-fluorenylene)-vinylene-co-(carboxy-2,5-phenylene)-vinylene- co-2,5-thienylene-vinylene] (P3) were used in DSSC devices, obtaining conversion efficiencies up to 0.88% (P3). 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 49: 842-847, 2011

26th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 373-375, This work investigates the potentialities of 1D nanostructured metallic gratings integrated into organic solar cells. The aim is to enhance the absorption of light in such ultra-thin devices. The excitation of plasmonic waves in metallic periodic nanostructures can be exploited to get an increase in the optical path length combined to a significant field intensification in close proximity to the grating. We performed numerical simulations and multiparametric optimization in order to evaluate the optical response of two plasmonic solar cells layouts in superstrate and substrate configuration in comparison with a flat reference cell. Simulation results confirm that both solar cells configuration reach a considerable throughput enhancement.

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of subcutaneous (sc) interferon beta-1a (IFNβ-1a) on cognition in mildly disabled patients with relapsing—remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Patients aged 18—50 years with RRMS (McDonald criteria; Expanded Disability Status Scale score ≤4.0) were assigned IFNβ therapy at the physician’s discretion and underwent standardized magnetic resonance imaging, neurological examination and neuropsychological testing at the baseline and regular intervals for up to three years. This analysis included 459 patients who received sc IFNβ-1a (44 mcg: n = 236; 22 mcg: n = 223; three-year follow up was available for 318 patients). The hazard ratio for cognitive impairment over three years (44 mcg versus 22 mcg) was 0.68 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.480—0.972), suggesting a 32% lower risk with the higher dose treatment. At year 3, the proportion of patients who were cognitively impaired increased slightly from 23.5% at the baseline to 24.8% in the IFNβ-1a 22 mcg treatment group, but remained stable at 15.2% in the IFNβ-1a 44 mcg treatment group. The proportion of patients with cognitive impairment at year 3 was significantly higher in the 22 mcg group than in the 44 mcg group (P = 0.03), although a trend was also seen at the baseline (P = 0.058). Multivariate logistic regression (corrected for baseline cognitive deficits) indicated that treatment with the higher dose of IFNβ-1a was predictive of lower cognitive impairment at three years (odds ratio: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.26—0.99) compared with the lower dose of IFNβ-1a. These findings suggest that sc IFNβ-1a may have dose-dependent cognitive benefits in mildly disabled patients with RRMS, and may support early initiation of high-dose IFNβ-1a treatment.

We report on the fabrication of the first bicolor micropixelated OLED from a single molecular material using a single-step bottom up procedure, The implementation of a deposition technique, based on a spatial-switch and con formational-sensitive STD surface-tension-driven lithography, has allowed us to exploit the spontaneous supramolecular properties and the conformational flexibility of a conjugated thiophene-based material, 6-bis-(50-hexyl-[2, 20]bithiophen-5-yl)-3, 5-dimethyl-dithieno[3, 2-b: 20, 30-d]-thiophene (DTT7Me). The existence of two regularly alternating emitting regions on a micrometer scale allows obtaining electroluminescent emission at two different wavelengths from a single material.

We report on a multilayer structure hybrid light-emitting device (HLED) using a water/alcohol-soluble polymer poly(9,9-bis{30-[(N,N-dimethyl)-N-ethylammonium}-propyl]-2,7-fluorene dibromide) as an electron-transporting layer and a close-packed quantum dot-layer (QD-layer) as an emitting layer. The device was realized by full spin-coating technology without thermal evaporation process for the deposition of organic layers. The QD-layer was a mixture of QDs with two different sizes, in which large size QD-emitters were dispersed in small size QDs to weaken the concentration quenching. The device achieved a maximum power efficiency of 0.58 lm/W, which nearly quadrupled that of the HLED with a plain large size QD-EML. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics.[doi: 10.1063/1.3484145]