Potential of the three-Terminal heterojunction bipolar transistor solar cell for space applications

Multi-Terminal multi-junction solar cells (MJSC) offer higher efficiency potential than series connected (two-Terminal) ones. In addition, for terrestrial applications, the efficiency of multi-Terminal solar cells is less sensitive to solar spectral variations than the two-Terminal series-connected one. In space, generally, cells are always illuminated with AM0 spectrum and no impact is expected from spectral variations. Still, in space, the multi-Terminal approach offers some advantages in comparison with the series-connected architecture approach derived from a higher end of life (EOL) efficiency. In this work we review the potential of multi-Terminal solar cells for achieving extended EOL efficiencies with emphasis in the potential of the three-Terminal heterojunction bipolar transistor solar cell, a novel multi-Terminal MJSC architecture with a simplified structure not requiring, for example, tunnel junctions

Mechano‐electrical interactions and heterogeneities in wild‐type and drug‐induced long QT syndrome rabbits

Electromechanical reciprocity – comprising electro-mechanical (EMC) and mechano-electric coupling (MEC) – provides cardiac adaptation to changing physiological demands. Understanding electromechanical reciprocity and its impact on function and heterogeneity in pathological conditions – such as (drug-induced) acquired long QT syndrome (aLQTS) – might lead to novel insights in arrhythmogenesis. Our aim is to investigate how electrical changes impact on mechanical function (EMC) and vice versa (MEC) under physiological conditions and in aLQTS. To measure regional differences in EMC and MEC in vivo, we used tissue phase mapping cardiac MRI and a 24-lead ECG vest in healthy (control) and IKr-blocker E-4031-induced aLQTS rabbit hearts. MEC was studied in vivo by acutely increasing cardiac preload, and ex vivo by using voltage optical mapping (OM) in beating hearts at different preloads. In aLQTS, electrical repolarization (heart rate corrected RT-interval, RTn370) was prolonged compared to control (P < 0.0001) with increased spatial and temporal RT heterogeneity (P < 0.01). Changing electrical function (in aLQTS) resulted in significantly reduced diastolic mechanical function and prolonged contraction duration (EMC), causing increased apico-basal mechanical heterogeneity. Increased preload acutely prolonged RTn370 in both control and aLQTS hearts (MEC). This effect was more pronounced in aLQTS (P < 0.0001). Additionally, regional RT-dispersion increased in aLQTS. Motion-correction allowed us to determine APD-prolongation in beating aLQTS hearts, but limited motion correction accuracy upon preload-changes prevented a clear analysis of MEC ex vivo. Mechano-induced RT-prolongation and increased heterogeneity were more pronounced in aLQTS than in healthy hearts. Acute MEC effects may play an additional role in LQT-related arrhythmogenesis, warranting further mechanistic investigations

Description of a "Trans-Saharan" strain of human T-Lymphotropic virus type 1 in West Africa

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and the molecular epidemiology of human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) in a group of pregnant women living in Guinea Bissau. We studied 427 consecutive pregnant women attending 10 centers for HIV-1 infection monitoring in Bissau. HTLV-1 infection was found in 2.6% of the patients. Phylogenetic analysis of the long terminal repeat region showed that 10 isolates were of the cosmopolitan subtype (HTLV-1a) and that only 1 was of the widespread Central African subtype (HTLV-1b). All the cosmopolitan isolates belonged to the HTLV-1aD subgroup, which was first described in North Africa and clustered with other Senegal and Guinea isolates to form a significant West African clade. Our data show a high prevalence of HTLV-1 in Guinea Bissau and suggest the existence of a trans-Saharan strain distributed in North and West Africa, which probably crossed the desert in the past as a result of contacts between nomadic and sedentary populations or along trading routes

Cuaderno abierto para la simulación de células solares de tres terminales de tipo transistor bipolar de heterounion

CIES2020 - XVII Congresso Ibérico e XIII Congresso Ibero-americano de Energia SolarRESUMEN: Los cuadernos abiertos (Open Notebooks), como los que pueden realizarse en el entorno Jupyter, son una herramienta excelente, no solo para documentar los programas que se implementan para realizar tal o cual cálculo, sino también para: a) facilitar la docencia sobre el asunto de que se trate, b) facilitar que terceros verifiquen con facilidad los cálculos realizados, c) posibilitar el cálculo interactivo. En el contexto del proyecto Europeo GRECO, dedicado al desarrollo de la ciencia e innovación responsable (RRI) aplicado al campo de la energía solar fotovoltaica, estamos desarrollando un “Open Notebook” para modelar analíticamente la denominada “célula solar de tres terminales de tipo transistor bipolar de heterounión”. En este trabajo describimos cómo acceder a dicho cuaderno, describimos el modelo utilizado para modelar dicha célula y comentamos algunas de las lecciones aprendidas en relación con su uso y el desarrollo de la ciencia abierta.ABSTRACT: Open Notebooks, such as those that can be made in the Jupyter environment, are an excellent tool, not only to document the codes that are implemented to perform this or that calculation, but also to: a) facilitate teaching on the subject in question, b) facilitate third parties to easily verify the calculations performed, c) enable interactive calculation. In the context of the European GRECO project, dedicated to the development of responsible research and innovation (RRI) in the field of photovoltaics, we are developing an “Open Notebook” to analytically model the so-called “three terminal heterojunction bipolar transistor solar cell”. In this paper, we describe how to access this Open Notebook, describe the model used to model said cell, and comment on some of the lessons learned in relation to its use and the development of open science.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Differential single nucleotide polymorphism-based analysis of an outbreak caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Manhattan reveals epidemiological details missed by standard pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

We retrospectively analyzed a rare Salmonella enterica serovar Manhattan outbreak that occurred in Italy in 2009 to evaluate the potential of new genomic tools based on differential single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis in comparison with the gold standard genotyping method, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. A total of 39 isolates were analyzed from patients (n = 15) and food, feed, animal, and environmental sources (n = 24), resulting in five different pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profiles. Isolates epidemiologically related to the outbreak clustered within the same pulsotype, SXB-BS.0003, without any further differentiation. Thirty-three isolates were considered for genomic analysis based on different sets of SNPs, core, synonymous, nonsynonymous, as well as SNPs in different codon positions, by Bayesian and maximum likelihood algorithms. Trees generated from core and nonsynonymous SNPs, as well as SNPs at the second and first plus second codon positions detailed four distinct groups of isolates within the outbreak pulsotype, discriminating outbreak-related isolates of human and food origins. Conversely, the trees derived from synonymous and third-codon-position SNPs clustered food and human isolates together, indicating that all outbreak-related isolates constituted a single clone, which was in line with the epidemiological evidence. Further experiments are in place to extend this approach within our regional enteropathogen surveillance system

A PCR-colorimetric microwell plate hybridization assay for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. avium from culture samples and Ziehl-Neelsen-positive smears

Differentiation between Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. avium is essential for the treatment of mycobacterial infections. We have developed an easy and rapid detection assay for the diagnosis of mycobacterial diseases. This is a PCR-hybridization assay based on selective amplification of a 16S rRNA gene sequence using pan-Mycobacterium primers followed by hybridization of the amplification products to biotinylated M. tuberculosis and M. avium-specific probes. A total of 55 mycobacterial isolates were tested. For all isolates, results concordant with those of conventional identification methods were obtained. Moreover, we developed a method for extraction of DNA from Ziehl-Neelsen-positive smears which allows the recovery of intact target DNA in our PCR-hybridization assay. Our method was able to confirm all culture results for 59 Ziehl-Neelsen-positive smears from clinical specimens (35 sputum, 11 lymph node biopsy, 6 stool, 4 pus, 2 urine, and 1 pericardial fluid specimens). These data suggest that our PCR-hybridization assay, which is simple to perform and less expensive than commercial probe methods, may be suitable for the identification of M. tuberculosis and M. avium. It could become a valuable alternative approach for the diagnosis of mycobacterial infections when applied directly to DNA extracted from Ziehl-Neelsen-positive smears as well

Cuaderno abierto para la simulación de células solares de tres terminales de tipo transistor bipolar de heterounion

Los cuadernos abiertos (Open Notebooks), como los que pueden realizarse en el entorno Jupyter, son una herramienta excelente, no solo para documentar los programas que se implementan para realizar tal o cual cálculo, sino también para: a) facilitar la docencia sobre el asunto de que se trate, b) facilitar que terceros verifiquen con facilidad los cálculos realizados, c) posibilitar el cálculo interactivo. En el contexto del proyecto Europeo GRECO, dedicado al desarrollo de la ciencia e innovación responsable (RRI) aplicado al campo de la energía solar fotovoltaica, estamos desarrollando un “Open Notebook” para modelar analíticamente la denominada “célula solar de tres terminales de tipo transistor bipolar de heterounión”. En este trabajo describimos cómo acceder a dicho cuaderno, describimos el modelo utilizado para modelar dicha célula y comentamos algunas de las lecciones aprendidas en relación con su uso y el desarrollo de la ciencia abierta

Genetic characterisation of Measles virus variants identified during a large epidemic in Milan, Italy, March&#8211;December 2017

In 2017, Italy experienced a large measles epidemic with 5408 cases and four deaths. As Subnational Reference Laboratory of the Measles and Rubella surveillance NETwork (MoRoNET), the EpiSoMI (Epidemiology and Molecular Surveillance of Infections) Laboratory (University of Milan) set up rapid and active surveillance for the complete characterisation of the Measles virus (Mv) responsible for the large measles outbreak in Milan and surrounding areas (Lombardy, Northern Italy). The aims of this study were to describe the genetic profile of circulating viruses and to track the pathway of measles transmission. Molecular analysis was performed by sequencing the highly variable 450 nucleotides region of the N gene (N-450) of Mv genome. Two-hundred and ninety-nine strains of Mv were analysed. The phylogenetic analysis showed five different variants, two not previously described in the studied area, belonging to D8 and B3 genotypes. Three events of continuous transmission of autochthonous variants (D8-Osaka, D8-London and B3-Milan variants) and two events of continuous transmission of imported variants (B3-Dublin and D8-Hulu Langat) tracked five different transmission pathways. These pathways outlined two epidemic peaks: the first in April and the second in July 2017. The correlation between Mv variant and the epidemiological data may enable us to identify the sources of virus importation and recognise long-lasting virus transmission pathways

Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Hepatitis B Virus D Genotype in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin

Hepatitis B virus genotype D can be found in many parts of the world and is the most prevalent strain in south-eastern Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East, and the Indian sub-continent. The epidemiological history of the D genotype and its subgenotypes is still obscure because of the scarcity of appropriate studies. We retrieved from public databases a total of 312 gene P sequences of HBV genotype D isolated in various countries throughout the world, and reconstructed the spatio-temporal evolutionary dynamics of the HBV-D epidemic using a Bayesian framework