Effect of Bathocuproine Concentration on the Photovoltaic Performance of NiOx-Based Perovskite Solar Cells

Funding Information: This work was financially supported by the FBA-2019-3583 NAP Project of Yildiz Technical University, and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT/MCTES) under the project SUPERSOLAR (PTDC/NAN-OPT/28430/2017).Bathocuproine (BCP) (2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline) is a well-known material that is employed as a hole-blocking layer between electron transport layer (ETL) and metal electrode in perovskite solar cells. It has been demonstrated that the use of BCP as a buffer layer between the ETL and the metal electrode in perovskite solar cells is highly beneficial. In literature, BCP is coated using vacuum processing techniques. Vacuum processing techniques require more energy and cost-effective processing conditions. In this work, we used BCP layers processed through wet processing techniques using sol-gel method with different concentrations. We achieved a short circuit current density (Jsc) of 16.1 mA/cm2 and an open circuit voltage (Voc) of 875 mV were acquired and a fill factor (FF) of 0.37 was calculated for perovskite solar cells without a BCP layer leading to a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.32 % whereas Jsc of 19 mA/cm2, Voc of 990 mV were achieved and a FF of 0.5 was calculated for perovskite solar cells employing BCP layers with concentration of 0.5 mg/ml and spin cast at 4000 rpm, leading to a PCE of 9.4 %. It has been observed that the use of a BCP layer with an optimized concentration led to an improved device performance with an increase of 77 % in PCE in ambient air under high humidity conditions for planar structure perovskite solar cells in the configuration of ITO/NiOx/MAPbI3/PCBM/BCP/Ag.publishersversionpublishe

Unscarred uterine rupture and subsequent pregnancy outcome — a tertiary centre experience

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence, etiology and obstetric outcomes of rupture in unscarreduterine rupture and in those with a history of uterine ruptureMaterial and methods: The hospital records of women who had delivered between May 2005 and May 2017 at a tertiarycenter were examined retrospectively. Data on patients with unscarred uterine rupture in pregnancy who had undergonefertility-preserving surgery were evaluated.Results: During the study period, 185,609 deliveries occurred. Of those, unscarred uterine rupture has occurred in67 women. There were no ruptures reported in nulliparous women. The rupture was observed in the isthmic region in60 (89.6%) patients and in the fundus in 7 (10.4%) patients. Thirty-eight (56.7%) patients had undergone a total or subtotalhysterectomy, and 29 (43.3%) patients had received primary repair. Ten patients had reconceived after the repair. Of these,eight patients who had a history of isthmic rupture, successfully delivered by elective C-section at 36–37 wk. of gestation,and two experienced recurrent rupture at 33 and 34 wk. of gestation, respectively. Both patients had a history of fundalrupture, and their inter-pregnancy interval was 9 and 11 mo., respectively.Conclusions: The incidence of rupture in unscarred pregnant uteri was found to be one per 2,770 deliveries. Owing to thehigh morbidity, regarding more than half of the cases with rupture eventuated in hysterectomy, clinicians should be prudentin induction of labour for multiparous women since it was the main cause of rupture in this series. Short inter-pregnancyintervals and history of fundal rupture may confer a risk for rupture recurrence. Those risk factors for recurrence should bevalidated in another studies

Impact of laboratory test use strategies in a Turkish hospital

Objectives: Eliminating unnecessary laboratory tests is a good way to reduce costs while maintain patient safety. The aim of this study was to define and process strategies to rationalize laboratory use in Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital (ANH) and calculate potential savings in costs. Methods: A collaborative plan was defined by hospital managers; joint meetings with ANHTA and laboratory professors were set; the joint committee invited relevant staff for input, and a laboratory efficiency committee was created. Literature was reviewed systematically to identify strategies used to improve laboratory efficiency. Strategies that would be applicable in local settings were identified for implementation, processed, and the impact on clinical use and costs assessed for 12 months. Results: Laboratory use in ANH differed enormously among clinics. Major use was identified in internal medicine. The mean number of tests per patient was 15.8. Unnecessary testing for chloride, folic acid, free prostate specific antigen, hepatitis and HIV testing were observed. Test panel use was pinpointed as the main cause of overuse of the laboratory and the Hospital Information System test ordering page was reorganized. A significant decrease (between 12.6-85.0%) was observed for the tests that were taken to an alternative page on the computer screen. The one year study saving was equivalent to 371,183 US dollars. Conclusion: Hospital-based committees including laboratory professionals and clinicians can define hospital based problems and led to a standardized approach to test use that can help clinicians reduce laboratory costs through appropriate use of laboratory test

Evidence-based medicine and health technology assessments

Evidence based medicine (EBM) is the transparent and rational use of the best evidence available to make decisions about patient care. Today, health care has become more complicated and expensive, patient demands have increased and EBM is needed to obtain optimal results, to reduce the differences across clinical practices, to provide high quality services and to promote an efficient and cost-effective health care culture. Evidence based medicine practices concern the health policy makers as well as clinicians. As evidence based medicine gained importance in the field of health policy making the concept of “Evidence Based Health Policy” has emerged. This intent of this concept is for health politicians to moderate the purposes, methods and contents of health care offered to the public, to make decisions between alternatives considering up-to-date information and considering the setting, and to identify and announce political goals that benefit the public. Today it serves as an important means of identifying evidence based health policies and assessing health technologies. In this review, the definition, components, and grounds for evidence based medicine will be discussed, and health technology assessment which is one of the most important instruments of evidence based health policies will be examined

Laser-Assisted Dacryocystorhinostomy in Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction: 5-Year Follow-Up

AIM: To evaluate the long-term sucess rate of laser-assisted dacryocystorhinostomy (L-DCR) in patients with nasolacrimal duct obstruction (NDO). METHODS: Forty-one eyes of forty patients aged between 21-85y (mean 56.7y) who underwent L-DCR for the treatment of NDO were included in this retrospective, non-randomized study. The follow-up time was 72mo. Functional sucess was defined as the disappearance of epiphora under normal conditions and the presence of a patent ostium on lacrimal irrigation. Anatomical success was defined as a patent lacrimal passage on syringing besides continuing epiphora. Surgical failure was defined as persistent epiphora and closed ostium. RESULTS: Twenty-seven of 40 patients (67.5%) were female and 13 of 40 patients (32.5%) were male. The NDO was right-sided in 17 (42.5%) patients and left-sided in 22 (55%) patients whereas 1 (2.5%) patient had undergone bilateral surgery. In 11 (27.5%) patients there were additional nasal abnormalities requiring simultaneous surgical approach. The average time for L-DCR was 26.50 +/- 4.9min (16-39min) and the average total amount of laser energy used was 287 +/- 27.9 J (239-367 J). At the 5y follow-up, anatomical sucess rate was 75.0% (30 patients) and functional success rate was 65.0% (26 patients), whereas surgical failure was seen in 25% (10 patients). Revision of surgery was performed in 10 cases (25.0%); failure of revision surgery was seen in 2 cases (5.0%). CONCLUSION: Transcanalicular L-DCR is a reliable and fast procedure in the treatment of NDO. It can be alternative to external DCR which is accepted as the gold standard currently. The functional and anatomical success rate is higher in the first months and years, but still satisfactory at fifth year.WoSScopu

Epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of neonates with late-onset COVID-19: 1-year data of Turkish Neonatal Society

The literature on neonates with SARS-CoV-2 is mainly concerned with perinatal cases, and scanty data are available about environmentally infected neonates. To fill knowledge gaps on the course and prognosis of neonatal cases, we analyzed 1-year data from the Turkish Neonatal Society in this prospective cohort study of neonates with postnatal transmission. Data from 44 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), of neonates with positive RT-PCR results at days 5-28 of life, were extracted from the online registry system and analyzed. Of 176 cases, most were term infants with normal birth weight. Fever was the most common symptom (64.2%), followed by feeding intolerance (25.6%), and cough (21.6%). The median length of hospitalization was 9 days, with approximately one quarter of infants receiving some type of ventilatory support. Myocarditis (5.7%) was the most common complication during follow-up. Among the clinical findings, cough (odds ratio [OR]: 9.52, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.17-21.71), tachypnea (OR: 26.5, 95% CI: 9.59-73.19), and chest retractions (OR: 27.5, 95% CI: 5.96-126.96) were associated with more severe clinical disease. Also, there were significant differences in the C-reactive protein level, prothrombin time (PT), partial thromboplastin time, international normalized ratio, and days in the NICU (p = 0.002, p = 0.012, p = 0.034, p = 0.008, and p < 0.001, respectively) between patients with mild-moderate and severe-critical presentations. A PT above 14 s was a significant predictor of severe/critical cases, with a sensitivity of 64% and specificity of 73%. Conclusions: Our data showed that late-onset COVID-19 infection in neonates who need hospitalization can be severe, showing associations with high rates of ventilatory support and myocarditis. Cough, tachypnea, and retractions on admission suggest a severe disease course