Will ultrathin CIGS solar cells overtake the champion thin-film cells? Updated SCAPS baseline models reveal main differences between ultrathin and standard CIGS

Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells are amongst the best performing thin-film technologies, with the latest performance gains being mainly due to recent years improvements obtained with post-deposition treatments (PDT). Moreover, thinning of the absorber layer down to sub-micrometre values (ultrathin absorbers) is of extreme importance for CIGS to be even more cost-effective and sustainable. However, electrical and optical limitations, such as rear interface recombination and insufficient light absorption, prevent the widespread implementation of ultrathin CIGS devices. The recent electrical CIGS simulation baseline models have failed to keep up with the experimental developments. Here an updated and experimentally based baseline model for electrical simulations in the Solar Cell Capacitor Simulator (SCAPS) software is presented and discussed with the incorporation of the PDT effects and increased optical accuracy with the support from Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) simulation results. Furthermore, a champion solar cell with an equivalent architecture validates the developed thin-film model. The baseline model is also applied to ultrathin CIGS solar cell devices, validated with the ultrathin champion cell. Ultimately, these ultrathin models pave the way for an ultrathin baseline model. Simulations results reveal that addressing these absorbers' inherent limitations makes it possible to achieve an ultrathin solar cell with at least 21.0% power conversion efficiency, with open-circuit voltage values even higher than the recent thin-film champion cells.This work was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecno-logia (FCT) grant numbers DFA/BD/7073/2020, DFA/BD/4564/2020, SFRH/BD/146776/2019, IF/00133/2015, UIDB/50025/2020, UIDP/50025/2020, UIDB/04730/2020, and UIDP/04730/2020. The authors want to acknowledge the funding from the project NovaCell (PTDC/ CTM-CTM/28075/2017). The authors also acknowledge the financial support of the project Baterias 2030, with the reference POCI-01-0247-FEDER-046109, co-funded by Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (COMPETE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDFinfo:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersio

A competitive strategy for atrial and aortic tract segmentation based on deformable models

Multiple strategies have previously been described for atrial region (i.e. atrial bodies and aortic tract) segmentation. Although these techniques have proven their accuracy, inadequate results in the mid atrial walls are common, restricting their application for specific cardiac interventions. In this work, we introduce a novel competitive strategy to perform atrial region segmentation with correct delineation of the thin mid walls, and integrated it into the B-spline Explicit Active Surfaces framework. A double stage segmentation process is used, which starts with a fast contour growing followed by a refinement stage with local descriptors. Independent functions are used to define each region, being afterward combined to compete for the optimal boundary. The competition locally constrains the surface evolution, prevents overlaps and allows refinement to the walls. Three different scenarios were used to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed approach, through the evaluation of its segmentation accuracy, and its performance for heterogeneous mid walls. Both computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging datasets were used, presenting results similar to the state-of-the-art methods for both atria and aorta. The competitive strategy showed its superior performance with statistically significant differences against the traditional free-evolution approach in cases with bad image quality or missed atrial/aortic walls. Moreover, only the competitive approach was able to accurately segment the atrial/aortic wall. Overall, the proposed strategy showed to be suitable for atrial region segmentation with a correct segmentation of the mid thin walls, demonstrating its added value with respect to the traditional techniques.The authors acknowledge Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT), in Portugal, and the European Social Found, European Union, for funding support through the "Programa Operacional Capital Humano" (POCH) in the scope of the PhD grants SFRH/BD/95438/2013 (P. Morais) and SFRH/BD/93443/2013 (S. Queiros).Authors gratefully acknowledge the funding of projects NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013 and NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000022, co-financed by "Programa Operacional Regional do Norte" (NORTE2020), through "Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional" (FEDER).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Automated segmentation of the atrial region and fossa ovalis towards computer-aided planning of inter-atrial wall interventions

Image-fusion strategies have been applied to improve inter-atrial septal (IAS) wall minimally-invasive interventions. Hereto, several landmarks are initially identified on richly-detailed datasets throughout the planning stage and then combined with intra-operative images, enhancing the relevant structures and easing the procedure. Nevertheless, such planning is still performed manually, which is time-consuming and not necessarily reproducible, hampering its regular application. In this article, we present a novel automatic strategy to segment the atrial region (left/right atrium and aortic tract) and the fossa ovalis (FO).Fundacão para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), in Portugal, and the European Social Found, European Union, for funding support through the “Programa Operacional Capital Humano” (POCH) in the scope of the PhD grants SFRH/BD/95438/2013 (P. Morais) and SFRH/BD/93443/2013 (S. Queirós). This work was funded by projects NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000022 and NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-024300, supported by Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Norte2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), and also been funded by FEDER funds, through Competitiveness Factors Operational Programme (COMPETE), and by national funds, through the FCT, under the scope of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007038info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effects of exercise on physical and mental health, and cognitive and brain functions in schizophrenia: clinical and experimental evidence

Exercise promotes several health benefits, such as cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and cardiorespiratory improvements. It is believed that the practice of exercise in individuals with psychiatric disorders, e.g. schizophrenia, can cause significant changes. Schizophrenic patients have problematic lifestyle habits compared with general population; this may cause a high mortality rate, mainly caused by cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate changes in physical and mental health, cognitive and brain functioning due to the practice of exercise in patients with schizophrenia. Although still little is known about the benefits of exercise on mental health, cognitive and brain functioning of schizophrenic patients, exercise training has been shown to be a beneficial intervention in the control and reduction of disease severity. Type of training, form of execution, duration and intensity need to be better studied as the effects on physical and mental health, cognition and brain activity depend exclusively of interconnected factors, such as the combination of exercise and medication. However, one should understand that exercise is not only an effective nondrug alternative, but also acts as a supporting linking up interventions to promote improvements in process performance optimization. In general, the positive effects on mental health, cognition and brain activity as a result of an exercise program are quite evident. Few studies have been published correlating effects of exercise in patients with schizophrenia, but there is increasing evidence that positive and negative symptoms can be improved. Therefore, it is important that further studies be undertaken to expand the knowledge of physical exercise on mental health in people with schizophrenia, as well as its dose-response and the most effective type of exercise

Efeito residual do lodo de esgoto na produtividade do milho safrinha Residual effect of sewage sludge on off-season corn yield

Das opções de disposição final do lodo de esgoto, a reciclagem agrícola tem sido uma das mais utilizadas em diversos países desenvolvidos, sendo considerada a forma mais adequada em termos técnicos, econômicos e ambientais. Este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar o efeito residual do lodo de esgoto na produtividade do milho safrinha, após dois anos de aplicação consecutiva desse resíduo em um Latossolo Vermelho eutroférrico. O experimento foi realizado em campo, em delineamento em blocos ao acaso com três repetições, e os tratamentos foram os seguintes: testemunha e adubações com lodo de esgoto nas doses de 6, 12, 24 e 36 t ha-1 (peso de matéria seca). Houve efeito residual do uso do lodo de esgoto caleado na produtividade de milho safrinha; a dose de 36 t ha-1 foi estatisticamente superior às doses de 6 e 12 t ha-1.<br>Among the possibilities of final disposal of sewage sludge, agricultural recycling has become one of the most widely used in several developed countries, and is considered the most appropriate in technical, economical and environmental terms. This study aimed at evaluating the sewage sludge residual effect on off-season corn yield on an Eutroferric Red Latossol (Oxisol). The field experiment was in a randomized block design with three replications, with treatments consisting of increasing doses of sewage sludge (0, 6, 12, 24 and 36 t ha-1, on a dry weight basis), applied in the two previous cropping seasons.. The residual effect of the application of lime-stabilized sewage sludge increased the yield of off-season corn; the grain yield under a rate of 36 t ha-1 was statistically higher than those under 6 and 12 t ha-1