We not only demonstrate the feasibility of growing h-BeO monolayers by MBE, but also illustrate that the large-scale growth, weak substrate interactions, and long-range crystallinity make h-BeO an attractive candidate for future technological applications. More significantly, the ability to create a stable single-crystalline atomic sheet without a bulk layered counterpart is an intriguing approach to tailoring 2D electronic materials.Colloidal superlattices are fascinating materials made of ordered nanocrystals, yet they are rarely called "atomically precise". That is unsurprising, given how challenging it is to quantify the degree of structural order in these materials. However, once that order crosses a certain threshold, the constructive interference of X-rays diffracted by the nanocrystals dominates the diffraction pattern, offering a wealth of structural information. By treating nanocrystals as scattering sources forming a self-probing interferometer, we developed a multilayer diffraction method that enabled the accurate determination of the nanocrystal size, interparticle spacing, and their fluctuations for samples of self-assembled CsPbBr3 and PbS nanomaterials. The multilayer diffraction method requires only a laboratory-grade diffractometer and an open-source fitting algorithm for data analysis. The average nanocrystal displacement of 0.33 to 1.43 Å in the studied superlattices provides a figure of merit for their structural perfection and approaches the atomic displacement parameters found in traditional crystals.We investigate the degradation phenomena of organic solar cells based on nonfullerene electron acceptors (NFA) using intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy (IMPS). Devices composed of NIR absorbing blends of a polymer (PTB7) and NFA molecules (COi8DFIC) were operated in air for varying periods of time that display unusual degradation trends. Light aging (e.g., ∼3 days) results in a characteristic first quadrant (positive phase shifts) degradation feature in IMPS Nyquist (Bode) plots that grow in amplitude and frequency with increasing excitation intensity and then subsequently turns over and vanishes. By contrast, devices aged and operated in air for longer times (>5 days) display poor photovoltaic performance and have a dominant first quadrant IMPS component that grows nonlinearly with excitation intensity. We analyze these degradation trends using a simple model with descriptors underlying the first quadrant feature (i.e., trap lifetime and occupancy). The results indicate that the quasi first-order recombination rate constant, krec, is significantly slower in addition to lower trap densities in devices exhibiting light aging effects that are overcome by increasing carrier densities (viz. excitation intensity). By contrast, larger trap densities and distributions coupled with larger krec values are found to be responsible for the continuous growth of the first quadrant with light intensity. We believe that defect formation and charge recombination at device contact interfaces is chiefly responsible for performance degradation, which offers several directions for materials and device optimization strategies to minimize long-term detrimental factors.Utilizing organic redox-active materials as electrodes is a promising strategy to enable innovative battery designs with low environmental footprint during production, which can be hard to achieve with traditional inorganic materials. Most electrode compositions, organic or inorganic, require binders for adhesion and conducting additives to enable charge transfer through the electrode, in addition to the redox-active material. Depending on the redox-active material, many types and combinations of binders and conducting additives have been considered. We designed a conducting polymer (CP), with a soluble, trimeric unit based on 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (E) and 3,4-propylenedioxythiophene (P) as the repeat unit, acting as a combined binder and conducting additive. While CPs as additives have been explored earlier, in the current work, the use of a trimeric precursor enables solution processing together with the organic redox-active material.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/U0126.html  To evaluate this concept, the CP was blended with a redox polymer (RP), which contained a naphthoquinone (NQ) redox group at different ratios. The highest capacity for the total weight of the CP/RP electrode was 77 mAh/g at 1 C in the case of 30% EPE and 70% naphthoquinone-substituted poly(allylamine) (PNQ), which is 70% of the theoretical capacity given by the RP in the electrode. We further used this electrode in an aqueous battery, with a MnSO4 cathode. The battery displayed a voltage of 0.95 V, retaining 93% of the initial capacity even after 500 cycles at 1 C. The strategy of using a solution-processable CP precursor opens up for new organic battery designs and facile evaluation of RPs in such.
  Stereotactic radiofrequency pallidotomy has demonstrated improvement in motor fluctuations in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), particularly levodopa (L-dopa)-induced dyskinesias. The authors aimed to determine whether or not unilateral pallidotomy with MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) could safely improve Unified Dyskinesia Rating Scale (UDysRS; the primary outcome measure) scores over baseline scores in patients with PD.
 
  Twenty patients with PD and L-dopa responsiveness, asymmetrical motor signs, and motor fluctuations, including dyskinesias, participated in a 1-year multicenter open-label trial of unilateral MRgFUS ablation of the globus pallidus internus.
 
  The sonication procedure was successfully completed in all 20 enrolled patients. MRgFUS-related adverse neurological events were generally mild and transient, including visual field deficit (n = 1), dysarthria (n = 4, 2 mild and 2 moderate), cognitive disturbance (n = 1), fine motor deficit (n = 2), and facial weakness (n = 1). Although orsening on the UPDRS at month 3.
 
  This study supports the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of MRgFUS pallidotomy in the treatment of patients with PD and motor fluctuations, including dyskinesias. These preliminary data support continued investigation, and a placebo-controlled, blinded trial is in progress.Clinical trial registration no. NCT02263885 (clinicaltrials.gov).
 This study supports the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of MRgFUS pallidotomy in the treatment of patients with PD and motor fluctuations, including dyskinesias. These preliminary data support continued investigation, and a placebo-controlled, blinded trial is in progress.Clinical trial registration no. NCT02263885 (clinicaltrials.gov).