Nanopyramid Structures with Light Harvesting and Self- Cleaning Properties for Solar Cells

In this chapter, inverted and upright nanopyramid structures with light-harvesting properties and self-cleaning hydrophobic surfaces suitable for solar cells are presented. Periodic nanopyramid structures with 400–700 nm features were fabricated using interference lithography and combined dry and wet etching processes. The inverted nanopyramids (INP) were applied at the front side of the solar cells using UV nanoimprint lithography. These structures provided effective light-trapping properties and led to oblique angle light scattering and a significant reduction in reflectance resulting in higher power conversion efficiency. The second type, the periodic upright nanopyramid (UNP) structures were applied on a glass substrate by UV nanoimprint process. The glass cover is also utilized as a protective encapsulant front layer. The use of the upright nanopyramid structured cover glass in the encapsulated solar cell has also enhanced the power conversion efficiency due to the antireflection and strong light-scattering properties compared to the bare cover glass. In addition, the upright nanopyramid structured cover glass exhibited excellent self-cleaning of dust particles by rolling down water droplets. These results suggest that the nanopyramid structures with light-harvesting and self-cleaning properties can improve the performance of different types of solar cells, including thin films and glass-based PVs

Fabrication and Replication of Periodic Nanopyramid Structures by Laser Interference Lithography and UV Nanoimprint Lithography for Solar Cells Applications

In this chapter, the fabrication and replication of periodic nanopyramid structures suitable for antireflection and self-cleaning surfaces are presented. Laser interference lithography (LIL), dry etching, wet etching, and UV nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) are employed for the fabrication and replication of periodic nanopyramid structures. Inverted nanopyramid structures were fabricated on Si substrates by LIL and subsequent pattern transfer process using reactive ion etching, followed by potassium hydroxide (KOH) wet etching. The fabricated periodic inverted nanopyramid structures were utilized as a master mold for the nanoimprint process. The upright nanopyramid structures were patterned on the OrmoStamp-coated glass substrate with high fidelity in the first nanoimprint process. In the second nanoimprint process, inverted nanopyramid structures were replicated on the OrmoStamp-coated substrate using the fabricated upright nanopyramid glass substrate as a mold. The replicated inverted nanopyramid structure on resist-coated substrate was faithfully resolved with the high accuracy compared to original Si master mold down to nanometer scale. Both upright and inverted nanopyramid structures can be utilized as surface coatings for light trapping and self-cleaning applications for different types of solar cell and glass surfaces

Health promotion, disease prevention and periodic health checks: perceptions and practice among family physicians in eastern Mediterranean region

Introduction: The aim of this study was to identify the current practices and perceptions of family physicians regarding health promotion, disease prevention including periodic screening and health checks in Eastern Mediterranean Region. Methods: A multi-country cross-sectional study was conducted in six countries of EMR, from September 2014 to March 2015. Family Physicians who were currently practicing in different countries of EMR were invited to participate in the study through email. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was entered and analyzed on SPSS 19 and logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: A total of 100 physicians data was included in the final analysis. The majority were female physicians (76%): 63% were 25 to 35 years of age. Approximately 53% of Family physicians always recommend periodic screening and health checks to their patients. The common screening question asked to patients in medical history was related to their blood pressure (86%). Almost all (99%) of the Family physicians believe they should conduct periodic health checks. Those who had postgraduate training in Family Medicine (OR: 0.5; 95% CI: 0.39-1.67) and attended CME sessions regularly (OR: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.01-0.93), are more likely to recommend periodic screening and health checks to their patients. Conclusion: Periodic screening and health check is an important strategy to prevent disease and maintain health. It is an underutilized practice and a great need exists for its implementation in family practice

New leadership model for family physicians in the Eastern Mediterranean region: a pilot study across selected countries

Background: Family Medicine is growing rapidly across the Eastern Mediterranean Region. However, it needs support in terms of overall health system development. This will require strong leadership in family medicine to implement the change required to improve current conditions. Objective: To collect data that will support the development of a leadership program for the future family physicians in the region. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2016 to September 2016 in eight countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, (Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia). These countries were selected to obtain perceptions of Family Physicians (FPs) regarding the current leadership model and to explore the need for a new future innovative model in Family Medicine (FM) across the region. Results: The information of 68 family physicians was included in the final analysis. The majority of the FPs was females as compared to males (71% vs. 29%). Forty-four percent of the FPs had 10 to 19 years of experience. Almost all of the FPs (96%) had completed some training in family medicine after graduation. About three fifths of the FPs had completed postgraduate qualifications and out of those, 64% had passed Board or Membership Examinations. Twenty-one percent of them are currently in a leadership role and 45% who were not in any leadership role responded that the current situation of FM in their country is poor. All of the leaders believed that it is important to develop strong leadership in FM to take the specialty forward. Almost similar proportions (67% and 64%) of leaders and non-leaders thought that establishing regional associations would enhance the FM practice model. Approximately two thirds of leaders (67%) responded that the current role of decision makers in the Ministry of Health (MOH) regarding capacity building in FM is not effective. The majority of the FPs (54% and 38%) considers that the existing postgraduate curriculum does not address leadership skill development in FM. Eighty-eight percent of the FPs both from leadership and non-leadership groups agreed that academic institutions and practicing FPs can play an effective leadership role in taking FM forward. Conclusion: The Family Medicine specialty will have to develop leadership capabilities in line with today’s fast-moving changes in healthcare for it to obtain the due recognition in the healthcare delivery system

Health promotion, disease prevention and periodic health checks: perceptions and practice among family physicians in Eastern Mediterranean region

Introduction: The aim of this study was to identify the current practices and perceptions of family physicians regarding health promotion, disease prevention including periodic screening and health checks in Eastern Mediterranean Region. Methods: A multi-country cross-sectional study was conducted in six countries of EMR, from September 2014 to March 2015. Family Physicians who were currently practicing in different countries of EMR were invited to participate in the study through email. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was entered and analyzed on SPSS 19 and logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: A total of 100 physicians’ data was included in the final analysis. The majority were female physicians (76%): 63% were 25 to 35 years of age. Approximately 53% of Family physicians always recommend periodic screening and health checks to their patients. The common screening question asked to patients in medical history was related to their blood pressure (86%). Almost all (99%) of the Family physicians believe they should conduct periodic health checks. Those who had postgraduate training in Family Medicine (OR: 0.5; 95% CI: 0.39-1.67) and attended CME sessions regularly (OR: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.01-0.93), are more likely to recommend periodic screening and health checks to their patients. Conclusion: Periodic screening and health check is an important strategy to prevent disease and maintain health. It is an underutilized practice and a great need exists for its implementation in family practice

Barriers, challenges and way forward for implementation of person centered care model of patient and physician consultation: a survey of patients’ perspective from Eastern Mediterranean countries

Background: Person-Centered Care (PCC) is now considered a mandatory approach in Patient-Physician consultation. The aim of the study was to identify patients’ perception regarding barriers and possible remedies for implementation of PCC in Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). Methods: A cross-sectional multi-country study was conducted in six countries of EMR during May 2014 to October 2014. Expert Family Physicians from each country were identified and asked to participate in the study. The Family Physicians then recruited Patients from their own clinics (\u3e18 years). Data analysis was performed on SPSS 19 and results are reported in the form of proportions, odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Results: A total of 234 patients were recruited, 60.6% were aged between 20 to 30 years and 36.3% of them were males. 56% of the patients preferred Person-Centered Care model for patient-physician consultation. The major barriers identified by patients in its implementing were; time constraints (73.9%, OR: 1.5; 95% CI: 0.86-2.78), doctors desire to control patient (OR: 2.6; 95% CI: 1.55-4.49), cultural and religious reasons (52.1%), increased cost (50.9%). Patients responded that increased cost related to Person-Centered Care practice would be acceptable (58.1%), if increase proved to be in the interest of better health and care outcomes (40.6%). Conclusion: Person-Centered Care (PCC) is associated with significant barriers in its implementation in Eastern Mediterranean Region. These barriers can be overcome in the interest of better health and care related outcomes

Biochip development using Nanoimprint Lithography (NIL) and metallic thermal evaporation techniques for biological cells manipulation using DEP

A Biochip is a platform of miniaturized microarrays arranged on a solid substrate that permits many tests to be performed at the same time in order to achieve higher throughput and speed. Single-cell identification, imaging and analysis in situ using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) faced a lot of difficulties as immobilizing the cells for direct cellular analysis is still a major challenge. One approach to overcome this problem was the use of organized arrangements like microarrays to trap the cells and placed them in a controlled manner. This can be achieved by fabricating these microarrays on a special platform such as Biochip. To manipulate the cells' movements, an electrokinetic phenomenon known as dielectrophoresis (DEP) was used for that purpose. Non-uniform AC electric fields generated by the interdigitated microelectrode arrays provide an ideal method for manipulating and controlling particles. The cells were captured using positive and negative DEP forces in cavities placed at different locations within the electrode arrays. As some cells have no tendency to spread over substrates during culturing, the contact area between the cell and substrate is very small, often leading to cell detachment by the scanning tip. Thus by employing the cavity trapping method, not only the cells were perfectly anchored to the surface but also their heights were lowered to within a set-scan level of the AFM, enabling faster time-to-analysis. This paper reports the development of a new layout for the Biochip electrodes intended for DEP cell manipulations

Generation of Micro-Droplets for the Study of Droplet Coalescence and Self-propulsion

Microfluidic devices play an ever increasing role in nano- and biotechnologies. An example of the recent breakthrough allowed by such technologies is the Lab-on-a- Chip (LOC), which enables orders of magnitude downsizing of assay equipment. An emerging area of research in this technology-driven field is digital microfluidics based upon the micromanipulation of discrete droplets. Microfluidic processing is performed on unit-sized packets of fluid which are transported, stored, mixed, reacted, or analysed in a discrete manner. Possible applications include on-chip assays, polymerase chain reaction, or DNA sequencing