Apple Pomace as a Potential Ingredient for the Development of New Functional Foods

Extruded snacks and baked scones were formulated with increasing levels (0-30%) of apple pomace (AP). The incorporation of up to 20% of AP in extruded snacks and in baked scones does not change significantly (pβ-carotene/linoleic acid system) increased when compared to the products to which no AP was added. Chlorogenic acid and quercetin were the major phenolic compounds found in the products. Loss of phenolic compounds during heat treatment occurred, however the DPPH radical scavenging activity of final products was not affected

Comprehensive Study of Various Light Trapping Techniques Used for Sandwiched Thin Film Solar Cell Structures

Thin film solar cells (TFSCs) where first introduced as a low cost alternative to conventional thick ones. TFSCs show low conversion efficiencies due to the used poor quality materials having weak absorption capabilities and to thin absorption layers. In order to increase light absorption within the active layer, specially near its absorption edge, photon management techniques were proposed. These techniques could be implemented on the top of the active layer to enhance the absorption capabilities and/or to act as anti-reflecting coating structures. When used at the back side, their purpose is to prevent the unabsorbed photons from escaping through the back of the cell. In this paper, we coupled the finite difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithm for simulating light interaction within the cell with the commercial simulator Comsol Multiphysics 4.3b for describing carrier transports. In order to model the dispersive and absorption properties of various used materials, their complex refractive indices were estimated using the Lorentzian-Drude (LD) coefficients. We have calculated the absorption profile in the different layers of the cell, the external quantum efficiency and the power conversion efficiency achieved by adding dielectric nanospheres on the top of the active layer. Besides that, the enhancement observed after the addition of dielectric nanospheres at the back side of the active layer was computed. The obtained results are finally compared with the effects of using textured surface and nanowires on the top in plus of cascaded 1D and 2D photonic crystals on the back

Inverse Cascade Evidenced by Information Entropy of Passive Scalars in Submerged Canopy Flows

Turbulent mixing of scalars within canopies is investigated using a flume experiment with canopy-like rods of height h mounted to the channel bed. The data comprised a time sequence of high-resolution images of a dye recorded in a plane parallel to the bed at z/h= 0.2. Image processing shows that von Kármán wakes shed by canopy drag and downward turbulent transport from upper canopy layers impose distinct scaling regimes on the scalar spectrum. Measures from information theory are then used to explore the dominant directionality of the interaction between small and large scales underlying these two spectral regimes, showing that the arrival of sweeps from aloft establishes an inertial-range spectrum with forward “information” cascade. In contrast, wake growth with downstream distance leads to persistent upscale transfer (inverse cascade) of scalar variance, which hints at their nondiffusive character and the significance of the stem diameter as an active length scale in canopy turbulence

Refractive index and scattering of porous TiO 2 films

Porous titanium dioxide (TiO2) films are essential components of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) as well as perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Unfortunately, porosity, refractive index, and scattering properties of these films are only roughly known. This induces uncertainties in modelling and understanding of these solar cells. Since the literature provides only descriptions of the optical properties of the porous TiO2 layers with unclear relevance to these solar cells, we investigate porous TiO2 films really used in DSSCs and potentially usable in PSCs. The effective refractive index and the film porosity for different nanostructures that were fabricated from solution-based techniques were determined. The found values are 1.7982 ± 0.005 for the effective refractive index of one kind of TiO2 films and 1.62 ± 0.002 for another one. These values lead to porosities of 53.5% and 65%, respectively. The scattering of the films can be described by a wavelength-independent effective scattering parameter for one film type and by effective scattering particles with a diameter of 46.5 nm for the other film type. The determined porosities are also of relevance for the ionic transport which is functionally crucial in DSSCs and a disturbance in PSCs

Le cancer du rein chez l’adulte. Etude rétrospective à propos de 155 cas

Objectif: Analyser les différents aspects épidémiologiques, cliniques, radiologiques, pathologiques et thérapeutiques du cancer du rein dans notre contexte. Patients et méthodes: Il s’agit d’une étude rétrospective à partir des dossiers des patients hospitalisés à notre service d’urologie pour tumeurs du rein entre 1990 et 2007. Sur les 155 dossiers consultés, 125 patients ont été traités chirurgicalement, et pour 30 patients, l’abstention a été justifiée par le stade évolué localement ou métastatique et/ou le mauvais état général. Les paramètres étudiés ont été : l’âge, la symptomatologie clinique, le bilan radiologique, le type d’intervention, les résultats anatomopathologiques et le stade histologique TNM. Tous les patients ont été revus avec un examen clinique, une échographie ou tomodensitométrie abdominale avec radiographie thoracique et une créatinémie. Résultats: Il s’agissait de 105 hommes et 50 femmes. L’âge moyen de découverte était de 60 ans (extrêmes : 18 et 85 ans). Le délai moyen entre l’apparition des symptômes et le diagnostic était d’environ 9 mois (extrêmes : 1 et 24 mois). L’hématurie était le signe révélateur le plus important noté chez 45,2% des cas. Le diagnostic a été basé sur le couple échographie – tomodensitométrie chez tous nos patients. La taille tumorale moyenne était de 10 cm (extrêmes 3 et 20 cm) lors du bilan initial. Le rein gauche était touché plus souvent que le rein droit (67% vs. 33%). Le bilan d’extension à distance était négatif chez 95 patients (61,3%), alors que 60 patients avaient des métastases viscérales et/ou ganglionnaires. Parmi ces derniers, 30 avaient un mauvais état général et/ou des métastases viscérales multiples ce qui a contre indiqué le geste opératoire. Les localisations métastatiques des 30 patients opérés étaient les suivantes: poumons (5 cas), ganglions (15 cas), os (2 cas), foie (8 cas). Plus de 80% des tumeurs étaient des carcinomes à cellules claires (carcinomes conventionnels). L’intervention a consisté à une néphrectomie totale élargie à ciel ouvert chez tous nos patients opérés. La médiane de suivi était de 62 mois (extrêmes: 6-72 mois). Trente patients ont été perdus de vue définitivement après l’intervention. Sur l’ensemble de la série, les taux respectifs de survie sans récidive à 3 ans et à 5 ans étaient de 78,4% et 47,2%. Conclusion: Le cancer du rein est une pathologie qui n’est pas rare. Sa symptomatologie est polymorphe. Le traitement de référence est la néphrectomie totale élargie. Les facteurs pronostiques les plus déterminants sont le stade (TNM) et le grade histologique de Fuhrman. Selon notre série, la néphrectomie élargie permet un taux de survie sans récidive supérieur à 85%, tous stades et types histologiques confondus.Mots clés: Cancer, rein, adulte

Screening for C3 Deficiency in Newborns Using Microarrays

BACKGROUND: Dried blood spot samples (DBSS) from newborns are widely used in neonatal screening for selected metabolic diseases and diagnostic possibilities for additional disorders are continuously being evaluated. Primary immunodeficiency disorders comprise a group of more than one hundred diseases, several of which are fatal early in life. Yet, a majority of the patients are not diagnosed due to lack of high-throughput screening methods. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have previously developed a system using reverse phase protein microarrays for analysis of IgA levels in serum samples. In this study, we extended the applicability of the method to include determination of complement component C3 levels in eluates from DBSS collected at birth. Normal levels of C3 were readily detected in 269 DBSS from healthy newborns, while no C3 was detected in sera and DBSS from C3 deficient patients. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The findings suggest that patients with deficiencies of specific serum proteins can be identified by analysis of DBSS using reverse phase protein microarrays.QC 20120213</p