Seeing Double:ASASSN-18bt Exhibits a Two-Component Rise in the Early-Time K2 Light Curve

On 2018 Feb. 4.41, the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) discovered ASASSN-18bt in the K2 Campaign 16 field. With a redshift of z=0.01098 and a peak apparent magnitude of B_{max}=14.31, ASASSN-18bt is the nearest and brightest SNe Ia yet observed by the Kepler spacecraft. Here we present the discovery of ASASSN-18bt, the K2 light curve, and pre-discovery data from ASAS-SN and the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). The K2 early-time light curve has an unprecedented 30-minute cadence and photometric precision for an SN~Ia light curve, and it unambiguously shows a ~4 day nearly linear phase followed by a steeper rise. Thus, ASASSN-18bt joins a growing list o…

Poly(naphthalenediimidequaterthiophene):Poly(hexyilthiophene) Heterojunctions. Efficient Polymer-to-Polymer Electron Transfer Interfaces

Organic thin films solar cells and plastic solar cells [1] have attracted the attention of the scientific community especially as regards the performance of new conjugated polymers including their interfaces [2-4]. In this work, poly(naphthalenediimidequaterthiophene) (PNDIT4) and poly(hexyilthiophene) (P3HT) have been employed, for the first time, for engineering planar and bulk heterojunctions by the synergetic use of two techniques: electropolymerization and layer by layer deposition. Electropolymerization has been used for obtaining PNDIT4 thin films on transparent ITO/PET electrodes, starting from the synthesized monomer. Inverse Langmuir-Schaefer technique has been employed for deposi…

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Significance\ud \ud Communicating in ways that motivate engagement in social distancing remains a critical global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study tested motivational qualities of messages about social distancing (those that promoted choice and agency vs. those that were forceful and shaming) in 25,718 people in 89 countries. The autonomy-supportive message decreased feelings of defying social distancing recommendations relative to the controlling message, and the controlling message increased controlled motivation, a less effective form of motivation, relative to no message. Message type did not impact intentions to socially distance, but people’s existing mo…

Monolayer and multilayer field-effect transistors based on a high-mobility n-type polymer: effect of the polymeric texture on charge transport

ELECTROCHROMIC PERFORMANCE OF A NOVEL POLY(NAPHTHALENEDIIMIDEQUATERTHIOPHENE)

Conjugated polymers (CP) display several interesting properties which enable them their application in different fields such as solar cells, light emitting diodes, field effect transistors, electrochromic devices to cite a few. One of the most interesting properties of this class of materials is their ability of switching from a conductive to an insulating state and vice versa by changing their redox state. The possibility to switch from an oxidized to a neutral or reduced state induces variations of the optical spectrum due to changes in the electron excitation energy configuration resulting in electrochromism. Nowadays, electrochromic conjugated polymers are stimulating the development of…

Cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes mortality burden of cardiometabolic risk factors from 1980 to 2010: A comparative risk assessment

High blood pressure, blood glucose, serum cholesterol, and BMI are risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and some of these factors also increase the risk of chronic kidney disease and diabetes. We estimated mortality from cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes that was attributable to these four cardiometabolic risk factors for all countries and regions from 1980 to 2010.

Worldwide trends in blood pressure from 1975 to 2015: a pooled analysis of 1479 population-based measurement studies with 19.1 million participants

Background Raised blood pressure is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and chronic kidney disease. We estimated worldwide trends in mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressure, and the prevalence of, and number of people with, raised blood pressure, defined as systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or higher or diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg or higher. Methods For this analysis, we pooled national, subnational, or community population-based studies that had measured blood pressure in adults aged 18 years and older. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1975 to 2015 in mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressure, and the prevalence of rai…