Enhancing the Power Output of Bifacial Solar Modules by Applying Effectively Transparent Contacts (ETCs) With Light Trapping

We have performed a computational study on the enhancement of the power output of bifacial solar modules with effectively transparent contacts (ETCs). ETCs are triangular cross-sectional silver grid fingers that redirect light to the active area of the solar cell, therefore mitigating grid finger shading losses. Furthermore, ETCs can be spaced densely leading to light trapping. We modeled bifacial silicon heterojunction solar modules with varying front and rear illumination and ETC coverages. We determined that shading losses can be almost fully mitigated and that light absorption can be increased by up to 4.7% compared with state-of-the-art screen-printed bifacial modules. Furthermore, we calculated that grid resistance and silver usage can be improved when using ETCs

The Characteristics and Outcomes of People with Dementia in Inpatient Mental Health Care: A Review

Objectives: Inpatient mental health beds for people with dementia are a limited resource. Practitioners need an understanding of this population to provide high-quality care and design services. This review examines the characteristics, care, and outcomes of people with dementia admitted to inpatient mental health services. Methods: Systematic searches of key databases were undertaken up to November 2021. Findings were grouped into categories and then synthesized into a narrative review. Results: The review identified 36 international papers, the majority of which were retrospective audits. The literature describes significant psychiatric and medical comorbidity and significant risk of change in residence and death associated with admission. Conclusions: We found a limited literature describing the characteristics, care, and outcomes of people with dementia in inpatient mental health services. The lack of research is striking given the complexity and vulnerability of this client group. More research is needed to describe the needs of this group, current and best practice to optimize care. Clinical Implications: Professionals working in inpatient mental health services need to be aware of the evidence base available, consider how they evaluate patient outcomes, review their staffing and skills mix, and seek the views of patients and relatives in improving services

Association of low level viremia with inflammation and mortality in HIV-infected adults.

BackgroundWhether HIV viremia, particularly at low levels is associated with inflammation, increased coagulation, and all-cause mortality is unclear.MethodsThe associations of HIV RNA level with C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, interleukin (IL)-6 and mortality were evaluated in 1116 HIV-infected participants from the Study of Fat Redistribution and Metabolic Change in HIV infection. HIV RNA level was categorized as undetectable (i.e., "target not detected"), 1-19, 20-399, 400-9999, and ≥ 10,000 copies/ml. Covariates included demographics, lifestyle, adipose tissue, and HIV-related factors.ResultsHIV RNA level had little association with CRP. Categories of HIV RNA below 10,000 copies/ml had similar levels of IL-6 compared with an undetectable HIV RNA level, while HIV RNA ≥ 10,000 copies/ml was associated with 89% higher IL-6 (p<0.001). This association was attenuated by ~50% after adjustment for CD4+ cell count. Higher HIV RNA was associated with higher fibrinogen. Compared to an undetectable HIV RNA level, fibrinogen was 0.6%, 1.9%, 4.5%, 4.6%, and 9.4% higher across HIV RNA categories, respectively, and statistically significant at the highest level (p = 0.0002 for HIV RNA ≥ 10,000 copies/ml). Higher HIV RNA was associated with mortality during follow-up in unadjusted analysis, but showed little association after adjustment for CD4+ cell count and inflammation.ConclusionHIV RNA ≥ 10,000 copies/ml was associated with higher IL-6 and fibrinogen, but lower levels of viremia appeared similar, and there was little association with CRP. The relationship of HIV RNA with IL-6 was strongly affected by CD4 cell depletion. After adjustment for CD4+ cell count and inflammation, viremia did not appear to be substantially associated with mortality risk over 5 years

Trial and error versus errorless learning of functional skills in patients with acute stroke

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of errorless learning versus trial and error learning for teaching activities of daily living to patients with acute stroke with or without explicit memory impairments. Design: Randomized crossover. Setting: Rehabilitation hospital. Participants: 33 adult subjects following an acute stroke. Intervention: Subjects were taught to prepare a wheelchair for a transfer and to put on a sock with a sock-donner. Tasks were taught using errorless learning or trial and error learning. Explicit memory was assessed using the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Exam. Main Outcome Measures: Days until subject was able to demonstrate retention of the task, and success or failure at carry-over to a similar task. Results: No significant differences were found in days to retention for either functional task when taught using errorless learning or trial and error learning in subjects with or without explicit memory impairments. Carry-over was significantly better when trial and error learning was used for learning sock donning. Conclusions: When choosing the best learning method for patients undergoing rehabilitation for stroke, the nature of the task should be considered. Additional research is needed to identify the best approach for teaching activities of daily living and facilitating carry-over of learning in individuals with acute stroke

Conformational Entropy as a Means to Control the Behavior of Poly(diketoenamine) Vitrimers In and Out of Equilibrium.

Control of equilibrium and non-equilibrium thermomechanical behavior of poly(diketoenamine) vitrimers is shown by incorporating linear polymer segments varying in molecular weight (MW) and conformational degrees of freedom into the dynamic covalent network. While increasing MW of linear segments yields a lower storage modulus at the rubbery plateau after softening above the glass transition (Tg ), both Tg and the characteristic time of stress relaxation are independently governed by the conformational entropy of the embodied linear segments. Activation energies for bond exchange in the solid state are lower for networks incorporating flexible chains; the network topology freezing temperature decreases with increasing MW of flexible linear segments but increases with increasing MW of stiff segments. Vitrimer reconfigurability is therefore influenced not only by the energetics of bond exchange for a given network density, but also the entropy of polymer chains within the network

Statewide retrospective study of low acuity emergency presentations in New South Wales, Australia: who, what, where and why?

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/Abstract Objective The present study aims to use a statewide population-based registry to assess the prevalence of low acuity emergency department (ED) presentations, describe the trend in presentation rates and to determine whether they were associated with various presentation characteristics such as the type of hospital as well as clinical and demographic variables. Design and setting This was a retrospective analysis of a population-based registry of ED presentations in New South Wales (NSW). Generalised estimating equations with log links were used to determine factors associated with low acuity presentations to account for repeat presentations and the possibility of clustering of outcomes. Participants Patients were included in this analysis if they presented to an ED between January 2010 and December 2014. The outcomes of interest were low acuity presentation, defined as those who self-presented (were not transported by ambulance), were assigned a triage category of 4 or 5 (semiurgent or non-urgent) and discharged back to usual residence from ED. Results There were 10.7 million ED presentations analysed. Of these, 45% were classified as a low acuity presentation. There was no discernible increase in the rate of low acuity presentations across NSW between 2010 and 2014. The strongest predictors of low acuity ED presentation were age <40 years of age (OR 1.77); injury or musculoskeletal administrative and non-urgent procedures (OR 2.96); ear, nose and throat, eye or oral (OR 5.53); skin or allergy-type presenting problems (OR 2.84). Conclusions Low acuity ED presentations comprise almost half of all ED presentations. Alternative emergency models of care may help meet the needs of these patients

Enhancing the Power Output of Bifacial Solar Modules by Applying Effectively Transparent Contacts (ETCs) With Light Trapping

We have performed a computational study on the enhancement of the power output of bifacial solar modules with effectively transparent contacts (ETCs). ETCs are triangular cross-sectional silver grid fingers that redirect light to the active area of the solar cell, therefore mitigating grid finger shading losses. Furthermore, ETCs can be spaced densely leading to light trapping. We modeled bifacial silicon heterojunction solar modules with varying front and rear illumination and ETC coverages. We determined that shading losses can be almost fully mitigated and that light absorption can be increased by up to 4.7% compared with state-of-the-art screen-printed bifacial modules. Furthermore, we calculated that grid resistance and silver usage can be improved when using ETCs

A New Rodent Model to Assess Blood Stage Immunity to the Plasmodium falciparum Antigen Merozoite Surface Protein 119 Reveals a Protective Role for Invasion Inhibitory Antibodies

Antibodies capable of inhibiting the invasion of Plasmodium merozoites into erythrocytes are present in individuals that are clinically immune to the malaria parasite. Those targeting the 19-kD COOH-terminal domain of the major merozoite surface protein (MSP)-119 are a major component of this inhibitory activity. However, it has been difficult to assess the overall relevance of such antibodies to antiparasite immunity. Here we use an allelic replacement approach to generate a rodent malaria parasite (Plasmodium berghei) that expresses a human malaria (Plasmodium falciparum) form of MSP-119. We show that mice made semi-immune to this parasite line generate high levels of merozoite inhibitory antibodies that are specific for P. falciparum MSP-119. Importantly, protection from homologous blood stage challenge in these mice correlated with levels of P. falciparum MSP-119–specific inhibitory antibodies, but not with titres of total MSP-119–specific immunoglobulins. We conclude that merozoite inhibitory antibodies generated in response to infection can play a significant role in suppressing parasitemia in vivo. This study provides a strong impetus for the development of blood stage vaccines designed to generate invasion inhibitory antibodies and offers a new animal model to trial P. falciparum MSP-119 vaccines