Two asymmetric three-dimensional (3D) holetransporting materials (HTMs) containing a triphenylethylene core and peripheral diphenylamine/triphenylamine moieties are first synthesized and successfully used in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Both HTMs are obtained from facile preparation procedures and simple purification techniques. The X-ray diffraction, aggregation-induced emission properties, absorption and emission spectra, electrochemical properties, thermal stability, density functional theory calculations, hole mobility, scanning electronic microscopy, atomic force microscopy, steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence, water contact angles, and photovoltaic parameters of the PSCs are compared. The highest power conversion efficiency increases from 12.57% (CJ-02) to 18.56% (CJ-01), rivaling that obtained from the state-of-the-art 2,2′,7,7′-tetrakis(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenylamine)-9,9′-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD) (18.69%). Further, the lab synthetic cost of CJ-01 is only about 15.5% of the price of commercial spiro-OMeTAD, and the concentration of CJ-01 solution for device fabrication is less than half of the concentration of spiro-OMeTAD solution (30.0 vs 72.3 mg mL −1 ). These results demonstrate that the propeller-shaped compounds with a highly twisted conformation are readily available and promising alternative HTMs for PSCs. Moreover, an applicable strategy to design new HTMs with 3D structure for achieving highly efficient PSCs is proposed.

In seeking evidence of the existence of adaptive immune system (AIS) in ancient chordate, cDNA clones of six libraries from a protochordate, the Chinese amphioxus, were sequenced. Although the key molecules such as TCR, MHC, Ig, and RAG in AIS have not been identified from our database, we demonstrated in this study the extensive molecular evidence for the presence of genes homologous to many genes that are involved in AIS directly or indirectly, including some of which may represent the putative precursors of vertebrate AIS-related genes. The comparative analyses of these genes in different model organisms revealed the different fates of these genes during evolution. Their gene expression pattern suggested that the primitive digestive system is the pivotal place of the origin and evolution of the AIS. Our studies support the general statement that AIS appears after the jawless/jawed vertebrate split. However our study further reveals the fact that AIS is in its twilight in amphioxus and the evolution of the molecules in amphioxus are waiting for recruitment by the emergence of AIS.

A cDNA library of male Chinese seahorse (Hippocampus kuda Bleeker) was constructed to investigate the molecular pro¢le of seahorse as one of the most famous traditional Chinese medicine materials, and to reveal immunological and physiological mechanisms of seahorse as one of the most primitive vertebrates at molecular level. A total of 3372 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) consisting of 1911 unique genes (345 clusters and 1566 singletons) were examined in the present study. Identi¢cation of the genes related to immune system, paternal brooding and physiological regulation provides not only valuable insights into the molecular mechanism of immune system in teleost ¢sh but also plausible explanations for pharmacological activities of Chinese seahorse. Furthermore, the occurrence of high prevalent C-type lectins suggested that a lectin-complement pathway might exert a more dominant function in the innate immune system of teleost than mammal. Carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) without a collagen-like region in the lectins of seahorse was likely an ancient characteristic of lectins similar to invertebrates. ß

No abstract

No abstract