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Focal therapy (FT) is a tissuesparing treatment paradigm for localized prostate cancer (PCa) with the potential to improve functional outcomes while maintaining oncologic safety. This paper aims to provide an overview of important considerations and practical recommendations relating to the follow-up after FT.Literature review of papers related to FT in PCa derived from Medline/Pubmed database.The recommended minimum follow-up period after FT is 5 years. Standard history taking should include: signs of disease progression, treatment-related complications and psychological aspects. Oncological outcome is based on serial prostate specific antigen monitoring, follow-up imaging (most commonly with multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging) and repeat biopsies (systematic from entire gland or targeted from treated zone). Significant PCa has been found at biopsy in up to 17% of patients after FT. Functional outcomes are evaluated using standardized questionnaires that relate to urinary function, erectile function and quality of life. A systematic review reports urinary continence in 83-100% of patients, erections sufficient for penetration in 54-100%. Outcomes differ between ablative energies and treatment templates. The most common side effects after FT are urinary retention (0-17%), urinary tract infection (UTI) (0-17%) and urinary stricture (0-5%). Rectal fistula is a rare complication occurring in up to 0.1-2% of patients. Clavien-Dindo Grade 3-4 complications are reported in 0-4% of patients. Type and rate vary with treatment modality. Complications should be reported using standardized reporting systems. Most data on FT outcomes come from small heterogeneous trials. Pooling of standardized data is necessary to advance the field of FT.Stringent follow-up after FT is required to confirm oncologic safety of the individual patient. Standardized data gathering and data pooling is necessary to evaluate whether FT can live up to its promise of improving functional outcomes while maintaining oncological safety.

Two donor–acceptor copolymers containing perylene diimide and oligothiophenes linked through triple bonds have been designed and synthesized by palladium catalyzed Sonogashira coupling reaction. The introduction of the triple bond spacer between the electron acceptor perylene moieties and the electron donating oligothiophene moieties produces an extended conjugation along the main chain, and produces soluble and high molecular weight copolymers.The thermal, optical and electrochemical properties of these copolymers were examined. The HOMO–LUMO energy levels of these copolymers, along with the quenching of their photoluminescence in 1:1 (w/w) blends with poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), indicate that they are suitable materials for application as electron acceptor and n-type components in bulk heterojunction solar cells with P3HT.

In this work we have tested in bulk heterojunction solar cells a polymer with a high oxidation potential, Poly-(dithieno[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]thiophene)-3-decylthiophene (P1), as electron donor together with [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as electron acceptor. We have studied the photovoltaic characteristics of solar cells made with different P1:PCBM blend composition. The incident photon-to-current efficiency spectra reaches EQEs of 40%, evidencing good charge photogeneration. The best power conversion efficiency, η = 0.83 under AM1.5 illumination, is found for solar cells containing 67% in weight of PCBM. As expected for polymers with high oxidation potentials, the open circuit voltage V oc attains high values ( V oc ≥ 0.8 V), independently from the photoactive blend composition, but the fill factors FF of the cells are low (FF: 0.3–0.38), evidencing poor charge transport properties. The data here reported suggest that transport features, probably arising from poor polymer hole mobility, are the main limitation for cell performances.

Using the photon energy induced blue shift of the resonant Raman scattering frequencies in inhomogeneous films ('RRS dispersion'), we extract the energy of the lowest even parity state of pi-conjugated polymers. We show that in the small band gap (approximate to1.1 eV) poly(dithienothiophenes), the experimentally observed unusually large RRS dispersion yields for the lowest even parity state (2A(g)) an energy, which is in the vicinity of the optically allowed state (1B(u)). (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The use of bipolar materials as an active layer in polymeric solar cells can be an alternative to ‘bulk-heterojunctions’ composed of donor–acceptor blends. We have prepared two series of polyalkylthiophene copolymers having acceptor molecules covalently grafted to the backbone. The random copolymerization of thiophene monomers containing an acceptor moiety (anthraquinone or tetracyanoanthraquinodimethane) and 3-alkylthiophene monomers is a powerful strategy to tune both the donor–acceptor content and the electronic properties of the material. Emission measurements show for both copolymer series a photoinduced electron transfer from the donor π-conjugated backbone to the acceptor substituents, and this process can be modulated as a function of the chemical composition.

Spectroelectrochemical studies of polydithienothiophenes (pDTTs), low band-gap conjugated polymers with polythiophene-like chain, using in situ FTIR-ATR and ESR spectroscopy, are shown. Spectral results obtained during p- and n-doping, as well as photoinduced spectral effects, are compared. The formation of paramagnetic positive and negative charge carriers with unusually high g-values is described.

The systems ITO/poly(4,4'-dipentoxy-2,2'bithiophene) and ITO/poly(3-butylthiophene)/aluminium (ITO=indium-tin oxide) are characterized by the rectifying properties of the junction polymer/aluminium. The same systems also showed an open circuit voltage in the dark and, under illumination, a photocurrent decreasing in time with a diffusion trend. The last properties have been explained on the basis of water absorption by the polymers, which therefore become ionic conductors. Finally, the aluminium oxidation at the anode and the proton (or polymer) reduction at the cathode lead to the formation of a galvanic cell. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Under the catalytic action of palladium,o-hydroxy- oro-amino-substituted aryl iodides oxidatively add to palladium(0), insert strained or rigid olefins, and close the ring between the aliphatic carbon and theortho-functional group. This reaction occurs under mild conditions in the absence of phosphine ligands in a DMF solution and affords fused dihydrofurans or-pyrroles.

Palladium complexes are versatile catalysts for the selective construction of organic molecules. The use of a model system containing a norbornyl-palladium bond stable toward β-hydrogen elimination allows the formation of a variety of molecules. Carbon monoxide is a particularly advantageous building block in these multistep reactions, because it helps to induce the formation of various types of carbon-carbon bonds. Some palladium-catalyzed multistep reactions, which proceed in sequence and have a common initial step,i.e., oxidative addition, are described.

Polymer solar cells are attractive in view of their potential application for low-cost solar energy conversion. Polymeric solar cells generally consist of a bulk heterojunction made upon blending a light absorbing donor and hole-conducting conjugated polymer to an acceptor and electron-conducting material. The most successful acceptors to date are soluble fullerene derivatives that are characterised by good accepting properties and high electron mobilities. The replacement of fullerene by a polymer acceptor has raised the attention due to the potential advantages connected to the good absorption and to the easier tailoring of the electronic properties of conjugated polymer materials respect to fullerenes. However the difficulty in designing n-type polymers with good accepting properties and good electron mobilities to compete with fullerene is an issue that is limiting the power conversion efficiencies of all-polymer solar cells. In this contribution we present a series of acceptor perylene-diimmide copolymers with good accepting properties and good electron mobilities that we have designed and tested in all-polymer solar cells, in combination to poly-3-hexylthiophene. The solar cells exhibit encouraging power conversion efficiencies (1.6 %) and show remarkably good charge transport properties in the active blend, comparable to optimised polymer/fullerene devices.

The photoresponse of Schottky-type junctions between aluminium and poly(3-alkylthiophenes) with different length of the alkyl-chain was investigated. Better results were obtained with the junctions based on the polymers with shorter side-chains, though the absorption spectra reveal an increasing conjugation length with the length of the alkyl-chain. The trend of the photoresponse was explained by taking into account the effect of the substituents on the morphology of these materials. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Under the catalytic action of palladium,o-hydroxy- oro-amino-substituted aryl iodides oxidatively add to palladium(0), insert strained or rigid olefins, and close the ring between the aliphatic carbon and theortho-functional group. This reaction occurs under mild conditions in the absence of phosphine ligands in a DMF solution and affords fused dihydrofurans or-pyrroles.

The synthesis and characterization of a series of n-type conjugated molecules and polymers is reported along with their application as electron acceptor materials for bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. The synthesis of a series of conjugated donor-acceptor systems based on N,N'-bis(10-nonadecyl)perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide moiety substituted in bay position with dithienothiophene, bithiophene or terthiophene moieties is described. These materials are highly processable from solution, show good sunlight-harvesting and electrochemical ambipolar properties. Upon photoinduced absorption, these new materials act as acceptor respect to poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT). A preliminary PV characterization of these materials in bulk heterojunction solar cells with P3HT is presented. The results clearly demonstrate the potentialities of these new materials as photoactive components in organic solar cells.

The paper studies the role of electrons and holes mobility in determining the external quantum efficiency (EQE) in photodetectors based on a 1:1 in weight blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). In order to fairly correlate the optoelectronic properties (efficiency and transient photocurrent) measured on photodetectors with the transport properties measured on field effect transistors, the photodetectors and the transistors have been produced with an identical planar geometry, where in both cases the charges flow occurs in the same direction with respect to the substrate. The measurements have been performed on devices based on pristine P3HT, on pristine PCBM, and on P3HT:PCBM 1:1 blend, before and after annealing, and have revealed the importance of a balanced carrier transport, showing that quantum efficiency increases as long as the mobility of electrons, which are the slowest carrier, increases. On the other end, the response time is mainly affected by the extension of the effective area.

[structure: see text] Novel suitably functionalized tetracyanoanthraquinodimethane (TCAQ) derivatives covalently linked to thiophene moieties have been synthesized. The thiophene-based monomers have been chemically polymerized and copolymerized to yield new and soluble donor-acceptor double-cable polymers. The absorption and emission data reveal that the optical properties can be finely tuned by modifying the ratio of monomers in the copolymerization process.

The processability and the solubility of organic materials are important in the fabrication of photoelectric conversion devices. A powerful strategy for chemical modification and for electronic property control of polymeric materials is the copolymerisation of different monomers. Polydithienothiophenes that exhibit low energy gap are promising materials for photovoltaic applications. To overcome their low processability we have designed copolymers containing either dithienothiophene or dithienothiophene-S,S-dioxide monomers in the backbone. The synthesis of these soluble copolymers is presented. Their use as photoactive materials in blends with buckminsterfullerene C60 or with TiO2 is discussed in terms of photo-induced charge transfer, probed by photoluminescence and photo-induced absorption measurements.

Since the discovery of the very fast photo-induced charge transfer between conducting polymers (as donors, D) and buckminsterfullerene (C 60 ) (as acceptors, A), interpenetrating D/A networks have been proposed to improve the collection of free charges at the electrodes. The morphology of the D/A blend is of crucial importance and embedding the photoactive materials in a plasticing matrix was suggested as a method to overcome phase separation, and to favor homogeneity. In this contribution we report on a morphological characterization of three-component blends of the type poly(3-octylthiophene)/plasticizer/C 60 , with different plasticizing materials. The morphological investigation was done with transmission electron microscopy. The use of a conjugated thiophene-based plasticizer produces dispersed fullerene domains interpenetrated in the polymeric matrix.

The modification of chemical structure may modulate the properties of polyconjugated system in order to optimize the applications in different fields. Many properties can be tuned ranging from the solubility to the band gap of the polymer. Moreover, the presence of a polar group in the side chain open new possibilities in the preparation of ordered molecular architecture such as Langmuir Blodgett films. We will discuss these parameters focusing our attention mainly on the preparation of Langmuir Blodgett films of poly(3-alkylthiophene) and of low band gap structure.

Chiral polyalkylthiophenes are noncentrosymmetric organic materials which can be used both in second harmonic-generation devices and in polarized light emitting diodes. In this work we present the synthesis and the characterization of a polyalkylthiophene with a chiral center very close to the conjugated backbone: poly(3-[(S)-2-methylbutyl]thiophene) (PMBT). Circular dichroism (CD) measurements have been carried out to ascertain the chirality of these materials. The CD spectra show intense signals both in mixed solvents and in the solid state. The strong Cotton effect can be associated to a highly ordered aggregated phase whose nature is still under investigation. We also present the photo and electroluminescence characterization of single layer light emitting diode (LED) with the following configuration: ITO (Tin Indium Oxide)/PMBT/Al.

Poly-3-[5-(mentholate)-pentyl]thiophenes in both enantiomeric forms and with a high degree of regioregularity have been synthesized. Circular Dichroism spectra have been taken in the UV and in the IR ranges in chloroform solutions. While the UV-CD spectra are quite weak, the IR-CD spectra have shown many signals, most of them mirror images for the two enantiomers.

A general photochemical synthesis of large thiohelicenes composed containing 5, 7, 9 and 11 rings is presented. The absorption and emission properties of the racemic molecules are discussed along with the chirooptical properties of two enantiomers.

The electrical and photoelectrical characteristics of sandwich-type devices based. on regioregular head-to-tail (HT) poly(3-alkylthiophenes) (PATs) have been investigated and compared with those obtained with regiorandom polymers. Better performances have been achieved in sandwich-type devices made with regioregular polymers having a short alkyl substituent. A spectroscopic and morphological investigation of the materials have been also done.

The electrical characteristics of Al/poly(4,4′-dipentoxy-2,2′bithiophene)/ITO and of Al/poly(3-butylthiophene)/ITO Schottky diodes were investigated in the dark and under white light illumination. In both cases a battery was found superimposed to the rectifying junctions, leading to a negative current for positive bias applied in the dark. Under illumination, the build-up of a photoelectrochemical cell was demonstrated, which prevents the photovoltaic parameters inherent to the Schottky junctions being observed. In the case of the Al/poly(4,4′-dipentoxy-2,2′bithiophene)/ITO system a dependence of the photocurrent on the relative environmental humidity was revealed. All these findings were explained on the basis of the ion conductivity induced by the water absorbed by the polymers and by little amounts of ions included in them. The formation of an aluminium hydroxide layer, electronic insulator but ion conductor, at the Al/polymer interface was hypothesised to justify that both a battery in the dark and a photoelectrochemical cell can be established.

Exocrine pancreatic function was studied in a homogeneous group of 33 female patients aged 42-67 years. Of these patients, 11 were classified as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 11 as Sjögren's syndrome I (SSI) and 11 as Sjögren's syndrome associated with RA (SSII). Clinical features, laboratory tests and special instrumental techniques excluded gastroenteric-hepatobiliary causes of pancreatic diseases. These patients were subjected to direct pancreatic stimulation with secretin and caerulein (S. Cae test). Test results, compared to control-group (10 voluntary healthy females) showed, in the last 30 m of stimulation, a statistically significant decrease (p0.05) in duodenal juice volume, bicarbonates and trypsin in 6 cases (54.5%) of SSI and in 3 cases (27.2%) of RA. SSII S. Cae test showed a decrease of volume and bicarbonates in 6 patients (54.5%) and in only 4 of these (36.4%) it was associated with a concomitant decrease in trypsin levels. Authors discuss the subclinical exocrine pancreatic function in relationship to sicca-syndrome, possible immunological factors and primary disease of pancreatic ducts.

We report a study of the optical and photoexcitation properties of a new polyalkylthiophene:poly[(3-pentyl-5-oxoazobenzene)thiophene]. UV-Vis absorption and emission, IR absorption, Raman scattering, indicate that the steric hindrance of the side chain induces some rotational disorder of the backbone but the π electron delocalization is not substantially differing from other polyalkylthiophenes. Long lived photoexcitations have been characterized by photoinduced absorption. The spectral features are intrinsic to the polyconjugated thiophene chain, even when the backbone and the azo chromophore are both photoexcited by UV light.

The copolymerization of 3-alkylthiophene and 3,4-dialkylthiophene units in well defined ratios leads to materials in which it is possible to modulate continuously the electronic properties such as the conjugation length and the energy-gap. The soluble materials have optical properties depending on the chemical composition of the chain. A macromolecular and optical characterisation has been performed on two copolymer series.