20 research outputs found
Design the efficiency color: Luminescent Solar Concentrators and user acceptance
Experiments were carried out with different semitransparent and colorless luminophores, so that passive energy facades of urban buildings capture effective energy through their glass. Inorganic dyes are used with rare earth elements such as Eu3 + and Nd3 + / Yb3 + lanthanide pair, to move solar spectrum towards nir wavelength range, which is the near infrared (nir) spectral region from the end of the highest visible lengths (around 780 nm) up to 3000 nm (13000 cm-1 to 3300 cm-1 ), combined with nanostructured silica particles to increase the luminescent quantum yields and brightness. User acceptance study based on emotions, considers the acceptance degree regarding presence of color in glass. Experimental results demonstrate optical power efficiency, higher with inorganic dyes (2.2%) than lanthanides (1.3%) for samples of crystals with Luminescent Solar Concentrators (csls) of 3.5 x 3.5 cm2 tinted and fully transparent, with optical transmittance ≈ 90%. Question about the presence of color in glass and its relationship with energy efficiency is solved
Analysis of the degradation of amorphous silicon-based modules after 11 years of exposure by means of IEC60891:2021 procedure 3
The degradation of two amorphous silicon-based photovoltaic (PV) modules, namely, of single junction amorphous silicon (a-Si) and of micromorph tandem (a-Si/μ-Si), after 11 years of exposure in the south of Spain is analyzed. Their I-V curves were measured outdoors to study the changes of the electrical parameters in the course of three different periods: during the initial days of exposure, during the first year, and in the subsequent 10-year period. The translation of the curves to an identical set of
operating conditions, which enables a meaningful comparison, was done by the dif ferent correction procedures described in the standard IEC60891:2021, including the procedure 3, which does not require the knowledge of module parameters, whose
values are typically not available. The annual power degradation rates over the entire 11-year period are 1.12% for the a-Si module, which is 3.02% for the first year, and 0.98% for the a-Si/μ-Si, which is 2.29% for the initial yearThis work is supported by Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca (Italy) (grant PRIN2020-HOTSPHOT 2020LB9TBC and grant PRIN2017-HEROGRIDS 2017WA5ZT3_003); Università degli Studi di Salerno (FARB funds); Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (Spain) (grant RTI2018-095097-B-I0)
New 3-Dimensional Volumetric Ultrasound Method for Accurate Quantification of Atherosclerotic Plaque Volume.
Carotid and femoral plaque burden is a recognized biomarker of cardiovascular disease risk. A new electronic-sweep 3-dimensional (3D)-matrix transducer method can improve the functionality and image quality of vascular ultrasound atherosclerosis imaging.
This study aimed to validate this method for plaque volume measurement in early and intermediate-advanced plaques in the carotid and femoral territories.
Plaque volumes were measured ex vivo in pig carotid and femoral artery specimens by 3-dimensional vascular ultrasound (3DVUS) using a 3D-matrix (electronic-sweep) transducer and its associated 3D plaque quantification software, and were compared with gold-standard histology. To test the clinical feasibility and accuracy of the 3D-matrix transducer, an experiment was conducted in intermediate-high risk individuals with carotid and femoral atherosclerosis. The results were compared with those obtained using the previously validated mechanical-sweep 3D transducer and established 2-dimensional (2D)-based plaque quantification software.
In the ex vivo study, the authors assessed 19 atherosclerotic plaques (plaque volume, 0.76 µL-56.30 μL), finding strong agreement between measurements with the 3D-matrix transducer and the histological gold-standard (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]: 0.992; [95% CI: 0.978-0.997]). In the clinical analysis of 20 patients (mean age 74.6 ± 4.45 years; 40% men), the authors found 64 (36 carotid and 28 femoral) of 80 scanned territories with atherosclerosis (measured atherosclerotic volume, 10 μL-859 μL). There was strong agreement between measurements made from electronic-sweep and mechanical-sweep 3DVUS transducers (ICC: 0.997 [95% CI: 0.995-0.998]). Agreement was also high between plaque volumes estimated by the 2D and 3D plaque quantification software applications (ICC: 0.999 [95% CI: 0.998-0.999]). Analysis time was significantly shorter with the 3D plaque quantification software than with the 2D multislice approach with a mean time reduction of 46%.
3DVUS using new matrix transducer technology, together with improved 3D plaque quantification software, simplifies the accurate volume measurement of early (small) and intermediate-advanced plaques located in carotid and femoral arteries.This study was partially funded by grants from the Ministerio de
Economia, Industria y Competividad (MEIC) with cofunding from the
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (SAF2016-75580-R to
Dr Bentzon) and (BES-2016-076633 to Dr Nogales). Research funding
was also received from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III Spain (PIE16/
00021 to Drs Bueno and Fuster). The CNIC is supported by the Min-
isterio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (MICINN) and the Pro
CNIC Foundation and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence
(CEX2020-001041-S). This study forms part of a Master Research
Agreement between the CNIC and Philips Healthcare. Drs Sánchez-
González, Entrekin, and Collet-Billon are employees of Philips
Healthcare. All other authors have reported that they have no re-
lationships to disclose related to the contents of this paper.S
Efficient total energy calculations from self-energy models
We propose a new method for calculating total energies of systems of interacting electrons, which requires little more computational resources than standard density-functional theories. The total energy is calculated within the framework of many-body perturbation theory by using an efficient model of the self-energy, that nevertheless retains the main features of the exact operator. The method shows promising performance when tested against quantum Monte Carlo results for the linear response of the homogeneous electron gas and structural properties of bulk silicon
Intracoronary administration of allogeneic adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells improves myocardial perfusion but not left ventricle function, in a translational model of acute myocardial infarction
Background-¿Autologous adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ATMSCs) therapy is a promising strategy to improve post-myocardial infarction outcomes. In a porcine model of acute myocardial infarction, we studied the long-term effects and the mechanisms involved in allogeneic ATMSCs administration on myocardial performance. Methods and Results-¿Thirty-eight pigs underwent 50 minutes of coronary occlusion; the study was completed in 33 pigs. After reperfusion, allogeneic ATMSCs or culture medium (vehicle) were intracoronarily administered. Follow-ups were performed at short (2 days after acute myocardial infarction vehicle-treated, n=10; ATMSCs-treated, n=9) or long term (60 days after acute myocardial infarction vehicle-treated, n=7; ATMSCs-treated, n=7). At short term, infarcted myocardium analysis showed reduced apoptosis in the ATMSCs-treated animals (48.6 6% versus 55.9 5.7% in vehicle; P=0.017); enhancement of the reparative process with up-regulated vascular endothelial growth factor, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and stromal-derived factor-1a gene expression; and increased M2 macrophages (67.2 10% versus 54.7 10.2% in vehicle; P=0.016). In long-term groups, increase in myocardial perfusion at the anterior infarct border was observed both on day-7 and day-60 cardiac magnetic resonance studies in ATMSCs-treated animals, compared to vehicle (87.9 28.7 versus 57.4 17.7 mL/min per gram at 7 days; P=0.034 and 99 22.6 versus 43.3 14.7 22.6 mL/min per gram at 60 days; P=0.0001, respectively). At day 60, higher vascular density was detected at the border zone in the ATMSCs-treated animals (118 18 versus 92.4 24.3 vessels/mm2 in vehicle; P=0.045). Cardiac magnetic resonance-measured left ventricular ejection fraction of left ventricular volumes was not different between groups at any time point. Conclusions-¿In this porcine acute myocardial infarction model, allogeneic ATMSCs-based therapy was associated with increased cardioprotective and reparative mechanisms and with better cardiac magnetic resonance-measured perfusion. No effect on left ventricular volumes or ejection fraction was observed
Diseñar el color de la eficiencia: Concentradores Solares Luminiscentes y aceptación usuaria
Experiments were carried out with different semitransparent and colorless luminophores, so that passive energy facades of urban buildings capture effective energy through their glass. Inorganic dyes are used with rare earth elements such as Eu3 + and Nd3 + / Yb3 + lanthanide pair, to move solar spectrum towards nir wavelength range, which is the near infrared (nir) spectral region from the end of the highest visible lengths (around 780 nm) up to 3000 nm (13000 cm-1 to 3300 cm-1 ), combined with nanostructured silica particles to increase the luminescent quantum yields and brightness. User acceptance study based on emotions, considers the acceptance degree regarding presence of color in glass. Experimental results demonstrate optical power efficiency, higher with inorganic dyes (2.2%) than lanthanides (1.3%) for samples of crystals with Luminescent Solar Concentrators (csls) of 3.5 x 3.5 cm2 tinted and fully transparent, with optical transmittance ≈ 90%. Question about the presence of color in glass and its relationship with energy efficiency is solved.Se experimenta con diversos luminóforos semitransparentes e incoloros para que las fachadas de energía pasiva de los edificios urbanos posean energía efectiva capturada, a través de sus vidrios. Se usan tintes inorgánicos con elementos de tierras raras como Eu3 + y Nd3 + / Yb3 + pareja lantánida para desplazar el espectro solar hacia el rango de longitud de onda nir, que es la región espectral del infrarrojo cercano (nir) que se extiende desde el extremo de las longitudes más altas del visible (alrededor de 780 nm) hasta los 3000 nm (13000 cm-1 hasta 3300 cm-1), combinado con partículas de sílice nanoestructuradas para aumentar los rendimientos cuánticos luminiscentes y el brillo. Un estudio de aceptación usuaria basado en las emociones, pondera el grado de aceptación respecto de la presencia de color en el vidrio. Resultados experimentales demuestran una eficiencia de potencia óptica, mayor con tintes inorgánicos (2,2%), que con lantánidos (1,3%) para muestras de cristales con Concentradores Solares Luminiscentes (csls) de 3,5 x 3,5 cm2 tintadas y totalmente transparentes, con una transmitancia óptica ≈ 90%. Se resuelve la interrogante en cuanto a la presencia de color en el vidrio y su relación con la eficiencia energética
Analysis of the degradation of single‐crystalline silicon modules after 21 years of operation
In this paper, the results of the analysis of the degradation of a set of single‐crystalline silicon modules after 21 years are presented. The comparison of the main electrical parameters and the series and of the shunt resistances measured in 1996 and 2017 is performed, so that the annual degradation rate is evaluated. In addition, a detailed analysis of the parameter uncertainties has been performed in order to determine its impact on the results. A visual inspection of the modules has also been carried out in order to show the correlation with the variation of the electrical performance. Finally, the temperature coefficients of the degraded modules have been estimated and compared with the nominal ones. The results shown in the paper reveal that the mean annual degradation rate in terms of power is close to 0.9