The basal ganglia represents a key component of the pathophysiological model for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This brain region is part of several neural circuits, including the orbitofronto-striatal circuit and dorsolateral prefronto-striatal circuit. There are, however, no published studies investigating those circuits at a network level in non-medicated patients with OCD. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained from 20 non-medicated patients with OCD and 23 matched healthy volunteers. Voxelwise statistical parametric maps testing strength of functional connectivity of three striatal seed regions of interest (ROIs) with remaining brain regions were calculated and compared between groups. We performed additional correlation analyses between strength of connectivity and the severity scores for obsessive-compulsive symptoms, depression, and anxiety in the OCD group. Positive functional connectivity with the ventral striatum was significantly increased (Pcorrected <.05) in the orbitofrontal cortex, ventral medial prefrontal cortex and dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex of subjects with OCD. There was no significant correlation between measures of symptom severity and the strength of connectivity (Puncorrected <.001). This is the first study to investigate the corticostriatal connectivity in non-medicated patients with OCD. These findings provide the first direct evidence supporting a pathophysiological model involving basal ganglia circuitry in OCD.

Measurements in the infrared wavelength domain allow direct assessment of the physical state and energy balance of cool matter in space, enabling the detailed study of the processes that govern the formation and evolution of stars and planetary systems in galaxies over cosmic time. Previous infrared missions revealed a great deal about the obscured Universe, but were hampered by limited sensitivity.

SPICA takes the next step in infrared observational capability by combining a large 2.5-meter diameter telescope, cooled to below 8 K, with instruments employing ultra-sensitive detectors. A combination of passive cooling and mechanical coolers will be used to cool both the telescope and the instruments. With mechanical coolers the mission lifetime is not limited by the supply of cryogen. With the combination of low telescope background and instruments with state-of-the-art detectors SPICA provides a huge advance on the capabilities of previous missions.

SPICA instruments offer spectral resolving power ranging from R ~50 through 11 000 in the 17–230 μm domain and R ~28.000 spectroscopy between 12 and 18 μm. SPICA will provide efficient 30–37 μm broad band mapping, and small field spectroscopic and polarimetric imaging at 100, 200 and 350 μm. SPICA will provide infrared spectroscopy with an unprecedented sensitivity of ~5 × 10−20 W m−2 (5σ/1 h)—over two orders of magnitude improvement over what earlier missions. This exceptional performance leap, will open entirely new domains in infrared astronomy; galaxy evolution and metal production over cosmic time, dust formation and evolution from very early epochs onwards, the formation history of planetary systems.

IR spectroscopy in the range 12–230 μm with the SPace IR telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) will reveal the physical processes governing the formation and evolution of galaxies and black holes through cosmic time, bridging the gap between the James Webb Space Telescope and the upcoming Extremely Large Telescopes at shorter wavelengths and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array at longer wavelengths. The SPICA, with its 2.5-m telescope actively cooled to below 8 K, will obtain the first spectroscopic determination, in the mid-IR rest-frame, of both the star-formation rate and black hole accretion rate histories of galaxies, reaching lookback times of 12 Gyr, for large statistically significant samples. Densities, temperatures, radiation fields, and gas-phase metallicities will be measured in dust-obscured galaxies and active galactic nuclei, sampling a large range in mass and luminosity, from faint local dwarf galaxies to luminous quasars in the distant Universe. Active galactic nuclei and starburst feedback and feeding mechanisms in distant galaxies will be uncovered through detailed measurements of molecular and atomic line profiles. The SPICA’s large-area deep spectrophotometric surveys will provide mid-IR spectra and continuum fluxes for unbiased samples of tens of thousands of galaxies, out to redshifts of z ~ 6.

Space astrometry missions Nano-JASMINE and small-JASMINE are planned in Japan. Data analysis tasks are performed under Gaia-JASMINE collaboration in long time. We expected to achieve 3 mas accuracy in Nano-JASMINE, and 20 micro arcsec in small-JASMINE of astrometric performance. Gaia DR1 publication and instruction is done from NAOJ and Niigata University.

In order to investigate the distinguishability about the progenitors of FeCCSNe and ECSNe, we calculate the luminosities and spectra of their pre-SN neutrinos and estimate the number of events at neutrino detectors.

It is now firmly established that a small anisotropy of the galactic cosmic rays exists, observable from Earth as a variation of intensity in sidereal time. The problem now is to determine more clearly the characteristics of the anisotropy and, in particular, its detailed spatial structure and how it depends upon the energy and composition of the cosmic rays. This is a very difficult task and, in the final analysis, may not be fully achievable from Earth-based observations. The purpose of the present paper is to describe briefly an installation now operating in Tasmania to provide further information on the spatial structure of the anisotropy.

Here we discuss requirements for high performance and solution processable organic semiconductors, by presenting a systematic investigation of 7-alkyl-2-phenyl[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophenes (Ph-BTBT-C n ’s). We found that the solubility and thermal properties of Ph-BTBT-C n ’s depend systematically on the substituted alkyl-chain length n. The observed features are well understood in terms of the change of molecular packing motif with n: The compounds with n ≤ 4 do not form independent alkyl chain layers, whereas those with n ≥ 5 form isolated alkyl chain layers. The latter compounds afford a series of isomorphous bilayer-type crystal structures that form two-dimensional carrier transport layers within the crystals. We also show that the Ph-BTBT-C10 afford high performance single-crystalline field-effect transistors the mobility of which reaches as high as 15.9 cm2/Vs. These results demonstrate a crucial role of the substituted alkyl chain length for obtaining high performance organic semiconductors and field-effect transistors.

Two alternative chemical etchings (aqueous solution of bromine and bromine methanol solution) have been here tested to replace the KCN etching step in Cu-rich CuInSe2 based solar cells fabrication process. This new oxidative etch aims also at smoothing and thinning the as-grown films. This directly affects the interface between the absorber and the CdS buffer, interface which causes problems for Cu-rich solar cells. We present here the effect of these two alternative etchings on both the absorber surface and the solar cells parameters: whereas the bromine methanol etching destroys the solar cell, the aqueous solution of bromine leads to an improvement of the device through reduced interface and tunneling enhanced recombination.

Wrinkle-less graphene films are obtained through roll-to-roll microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition by using flexible copper/polyimide (Cu/PI) webs. Raman spectra suggests that the average domain size of the obtained graphene on the flexible Cu/PI is almost the same compared to the graphene on a Cu web that includes wrinkles. Also, by utilizing the flexible Cu/PI webs, the compressive strains decreased. The sheet resistances of graphene deposited on the Cu/PI are (1∼5)×104Ω, which is two orders of magnitude lower than those of graphene deposited on the Cu webs. Our results suggest that the controlling the expansion of web material an important technology to improve graphene transparent conductive properties.

In this work, we report on development of one-dimensional reaction-diffusion simulator needed to understand the kinetics of Cu-related metastabilities observed in CdTe PV devices. Evolution of intrinsic and Cu-related defects in CdTe solar cells has been studied in time-space domain self-consistently with free carrier transport. Resulting device performance was simulated as a function of stress time, thus showing pronounced effect that the evolution of associated acceptor and donor states can cause on device characteristics. Although 1D simulation has intrinsic limitations when applied to poly-crystalline films, the results presented confirm the validity and the potential of the approach presented in better understanding of the performance and metastabilities of CdTe photovoltaic devices.

The goal of this research is to synthesize novel linear and hyperbranched polythiophene derivatives containing diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) as linking groups, and to investigate thermal, optical, electrochemical, and photovoltaic properties of those derivatives. Polymers with high regioregularity were synthesized via the Universal Grignard metathesis polymerization. Those linear or hyperbranched polythiophenes containing DPP bridging moieties showed higher molecular weights and better thermal stability compared with normal P3HT. The UV-vis absorption spectra of the DPP-containing polymers are similar to that of P3HT in film state, while they show distinct attenuation in fluorescent emission. Finally, all polymers were blended with PC61BM and used as active layers for fabrication of inverted solar devices. The devices based on those DPP-containing polythiophenes revealed the open-circuit voltage (V OC) of 0.55–0.58 V, the short-circuit current (J SC) of 8.62–16.21 mA/cm2, the fill factor (FF) of 36–41%, and the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.73–3.74%.

In current transparent Si based photovoltaic (PV) module fabrication, green or infrared laser is the most common used band frequency to wipe off the silicon and back contact layer in perpendicular direction of cells. However, this method would result in more power loss than calculation value due to the side effects during the process such as constructional damage of module and shunt effect. A new method is presented here which focus on wiping off more silicon layer by employing green pulsed laser(532 nm wavelength) along the parallel direction of Pattern2, and it shows higher efficiency and more attractive appearance.

Perovskite solar cells have caught wide attention. High efficiency, low-cost and high stability are among the major goals, which could eventually move the perovskite solar cells to the market. To achieve these goals, interface deliberation and nanostructural engineering hold the key.

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are progressively used for decentralized electricity generation. To obtain the maximum yield from such systems, optimisation of all components is essential. In this contribution, we provide a comprehensive modelling and sizing of PV systems for any location. Three applications are here presented providing real time monitoring of PV potential, accurate prediction of yield taking into account thermodynamic temperature effects, optimization of modules orientation addressing the effects of shading and efficient sizing of inverter for a higher yield output. When combined, these models can accurately predict the real time performance of any PV system.

Performance of a perovskite based solar cell is highly determined by the crystalline qualities of the perovskite thin film sandwiched between an electron and a hole transport layer, such as grain size and uniformity of the film. Here, we demonstrated a new hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition (HPCVD) technique to synthesis high quality perovskite films. First, a PbI2 precursor film was spin-coated on a mesoporous TiO2 (m-TiO2)/compact TiO2 (c-TiO2)/FTO substrate in ambient environment. Then, purified CH3NH3I crystal material was evaporated and the vapor reacted with the PbI2 precursor film in a vacuum pressure/temperature accurately controlled quartz tube furnace. In this technique, high vacuum (2mTorr) and low temperature (100°C) were applied to decrease perovskite film growth rate and reduce perovskite film defects. After vapor reaction, the perovskite film was annealed at 100°C for 10min in 20mTorr vacuum to recrystallize and remove CH3NH3I residue in order to further improve crystal quality of the thin film. Crystal quality of this perovskite thin film was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). SEM and AFM results illustrate perovskite thin films synthesized by this technique have larger grain sizes and more uniformity (RMS 11.6nm/Ra 9.3nm) superior to most existing methods. Strong peaks shown in the XRD chart at 14.18°, 28.52°, 31.96°, which were assigned to (110), (220), (330) miller indices of CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite crystal, indicate the complete reaction between CH3NH3I vapor and PbI2 precursor layer. High power conversion efficiency (PCE) up to 12.3% and stable efficiencies under four hours illumination of AM1.5 standard were achieved by these solar cells. This vacuum/vapor based technique is compatible with conventional semiconductor fabrication techniques and high quality perovskite film could be achieved through delicate process control. Eventually, perovskite based solar cells could be mass produced in low cost for large scale applications by this novel technique.