Atomic layer deposition of NiO applied in a monolithic perovskite/PERC tandem cell

Monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem photovoltaics have fueled major research efforts as well as gaining rapid industrial interest. So far, most of the literature has focused on the use of currently more expensive silicon heterojunction bottom cell technology. This work demonstrates a perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell based on the industrially dominant passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) technology. In detail, we investigate a tunnel recombination junction (TRJ) consisting of ITO/NiO/2-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)ethyl] phosphonic acid (2PACz) and compare it with an ITO/2PACz TRJ. Specifically, the NiO layer is deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Although ITO/2PACz-based tandem devices can reach more than 24% conversion efficiency, we observe that they suffer from a large spread in photovoltaic parameters due to electrical shunts in the perovskite top cell, caused by the inhomogeneity of the 2PACz layer on ITO. Instead, when ALD NiO is sandwiched between 2PACz and ITO, the surface coverage of 2PACz improves and the yield of the devices, in terms of all device parameters, also improves, i.e., the standard deviation decreases from 4.6% with ITO/2PACz to 2.0% with ITO/NiO/2PACz. In conclusion, thanks to the presence of NiO, the TRJ consisting of ITO/NiO/2PACz leads to a 23.7% efficient tandem device with narrow device efficiency distribution

Development and Validation of a Prediction Model for 1-Year Mortality in Patients With a Hematologic Malignancy Admitted to the ICU

OBJECTIVES: To develop and validate a prediction model for 1-year mortality in patients with a hematologic malignancy acutely admitted to the ICU. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Five university hospitals in the Netherlands between 2002 and 2015. PATIENTS: A total of 1097 consecutive patients with a hematologic malignancy were acutely admitted to the ICU for at least 24 h.INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We created a 13-variable model from 22 potential predictors. Key predictors included active disease, age, previous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, mechanical ventilation, lowest platelet count, acute kidney injury, maximum heart rate, and type of malignancy. A bootstrap procedure reduced overfitting and improved the model's generalizability. This involved estimating the optimism in the initial model and shrinking the regression coefficients accordingly in the final model. We assessed performance using internal-external cross-validation by center and compared it with the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II model. Additionally, we evaluated clinical usefulness through decision curve analysis. The overall 1-year mortality rate observed in the study was 62% (95% CI, 59-65). Our 13-variable prediction model demonstrated acceptable calibration and discrimination at internal-external validation across centers (C-statistic 0.70; 95% CI, 0.63-0.77), outperforming the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II model (C-statistic 0.61; 95% CI, 0.57-0.65). Decision curve analysis indicated overall net benefit within a clinically relevant threshold probability range of 60-100% predicted 1-year mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Our newly developed 13-variable prediction model predicts 1-year mortality in hematologic malignancy patients admitted to the ICU more accurately than the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II model. This model may aid in shared decision-making regarding the continuation of ICU care and end-of-life considerations.</p

Ellipro scores of donor epitope specific HLA antibodies are not associated with kidney graft survival

In kidney transplantation, donor HLA antibodies are a risk factor for graft loss. Accessibility of donor eplets for HLA antibodies is predicted by the ElliPro score. The clinical usefulness of those scores in relation to transplant outcome is unknown. In a large Dutch kidney transplant cohort, Ellipro scores of pretransplant donor antibodies that can be assigned to known eplets (donor epitope specific HLA antibodies [DESAs]) were compared between early graft failure and long surviving deceased donor transplants. We did not observe a significant Ellipro score difference between the two cohorts, nor significant differences in graft survival between transplants with DESAs having high versus low total Ellipro scores. We conclude that Ellipro scores cannot be used to identify DESAs associated with early versus late kidney graft loss in deceased donor transplants.</p

Ellipro scores of donor epitope specific HLA antibodies are not associated with kidney graft survival

In kidney transplantation, donor HLA antibodies are a risk factor for graft loss. Accessibility of donor eplets for HLA antibodies is predicted by the ElliPro score. The clinical usefulness of those scores in relation to transplant outcome is unknown. In a large Dutch kidney transplant cohort, Ellipro scores of pretransplant donor antibodies that can be assigned to known eplets (donor epitope specific HLA antibodies [DESAs]) were compared between early graft failure and long surviving deceased donor transplants. We did not observe a significant Ellipro score difference between the two cohorts, nor significant differences in graft survival between transplants with DESAs having high versus low total Ellipro scores. We conclude that Ellipro scores cannot be used to identify DESAs associated with early versus late kidney graft loss in deceased donor transplants

Two-component spike nanoparticle vaccine protects macaques from SARS-CoV-2 infection

Brouwer et al. present preclinical evidence in support of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate, designed as a self-assembling two-component protein nanoparticle displaying multiple copies of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which induces strong neutralizing antibody responses and protects from high-dose SARS-CoV-2 challenge.The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is continuing to disrupt personal lives, global healthcare systems, and economies. Hence, there is an urgent need for a vaccine that prevents viral infection, transmission, and disease. Here, we present a two-component protein-based nanoparticle vaccine that displays multiple copies of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Immunization studies show that this vaccine induces potent neutralizing antibody responses in mice, rabbits, and cynomolgus macaques. The vaccine-induced immunity protects macaques against a high-dose challenge, resulting in strongly reduced viral infection and replication i

Stedelijk Museum te Amsterdam ; onderzoek naar de invloed van vloerverwarming op het behoud van collecties

In opdracht van het Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, is door de Technische Universiteit Eindhoven en het Instituut Collectie Nederland, onderzoek uitgevoerd naar de invloed van vloerverwarming op het behoud van collecties. Onderzocht zijn zowel de invloed op collectie die direct op de vloer geplaatst wordt, collectie die op sokkels geplaatst wordt of collectie die in vitrines geplaatst wordt. Voor het onderzoek is gebruik gemaakt van een testopstelling, bestaande uit onder andere een proefvloer met vloerverwarming, een vitrine-prototype en diverse dummy-objecten. Het onderzoek is uitgevoerd in een klimaatkamer, zodat de omgevingscondities tijdens de proeven stabiel en bekend waren. Meetresultaten tonen aan dat klimaatgevoelige collectie die direct op de vloer geplaatst wordt, het grootste risico kan lopen, als gevolg van de locale opwarming en lagere relatieve vochtigheid. Houten objecten bijvoorbeeld, kunnen hierdoor locaal uitdrogen en onherstelbaar beschadigen. Het plaatsen van klimaatgevoelige collectie op een verwarmde vloer, wordt dan ook afgeraden, tenzij de collectie thermisch gescheiden wordt met bijvoorbeeld een stuk isolatiemateriaal. Het risico voor collectie die op sokkels wordt tentoongesteld is minimaal te noemen. Als gevolg van luchtmenging neemt de luchttemperatuur hoger dan 0,1 m boven de vloer snel de gemiddelde ruimteluchttemperatuur aan. Slechts delen van objecten die direct door de vloer aangestraald worden kunnen licht opwarmen en daarmee locaal aan het oppervlak lagere relatieve vochtigheden ondervinden. Onderzoek aan het aangeleverde vitrine-prototype toont onder andere dat de mate van luchtdichtheid niet van een noemenswaardige invloed is op de opwarming die ontstaat als gevolg van de vloerverwarming. Een hoge mate van luchtdichtheid is wel gewenst om stofdepositie in de vitrine te minimaliseren. Vloerverwarming zorgt namelijk voor een licht hogere luchtuitwisseling met de omgeving