Effect of the Phosphorus Gettering on Si Heterojunction Solar Cells

To improve the efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells, should be collected the excess carrier as much as possible. Therefore, minimizing the recombination both at the bulk and surface regions is important. Impurities make recombination sites and they are the major reason for recombination. Phosphorus (P) gettering was introduced to reduce metal impurities in the bulk region of Si wafers and then to improve the efficiency of Si heterojunction solar cells fabricated on the wafers. Resistivity of wafers was measured by a four-point probe method. Fill factor of solar cells was measured by a solar simulator. Saturation current and ideality factor were calculated from a dark current density-voltage graph. External quantum efficiency was analyzed to assess the effect of P gettering on the performance of solar cells. Minority bulk lifetime measured by microwave photoconductance decay increases from 368.3 to 660.8 mu s. Open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current density increase from 577 to 598 mV and 27.8 to 29.8mA/cm(2), respectively. The efficiency of solar cells increases from 11.9 to 13.4%. P gettering will be feasible to improve the efficiency of Si heterojunction solar cells fabricated on P-doped Si wafers.open1

Terminal fucosylation of haptoglobin in cancer-derived exosomes during cholangiocarcinoma progression

BackgroundCholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a silent tumor with a high mortality rate due to the difficulty of early diagnosis and prediction of recurrence even after timely surgery. Serologic cancer biomarkers have been used in clinical practice, but their low specificity and sensitivity have been problematic. In this study, we aimed to identify CCA-specific glycan epitopes that can be used for diagnosis and to elucidate the mechanisms by which glycosylation is altered with tumor progression.MethodsThe serum of patients with various cancers was fractioned into membrane-bound and soluble components using serial ultracentrifugation. Lectin blotting was conducted to evaluate glycosylation. Proteins having altered glycosylation were identified using proteomic analysis and further confirmed using immunoblotting analysis. We performed HPLC, gene analysis, real-time cargo tracking, and immunohistochemistry to determine the origin of CCA glycosylation and its underlying mechanisms. Extracellular vesicles (EV) were isolated from the sera of 62 patients with CCA at different clinical stages and inflammatory conditions and used for glycan analysis to assess their clinical significance.ResultsThe results reveal that glycosylation patterns between soluble and membrane-bound fractions differ significantly even when obtained from the same donor. Notably, glycans with α1-3/4 fucose and β1-6GlcNAc branched structures increase specifically in membrane-bound fractions of CCA. Mechanically, it is primarily due to β-haptoglobin (β-Hp) originating from CCA expressing fucosyltransferase-3/4 (FUT 3/4) and N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase-V (MGAT5). Newly synthesized β-Hp is loaded into EVs in early endosomes via a KFERQ-like motif and then secreted from CCA cells to induce tumor progression. In contrast, β-Hp expressed by hepatocytes is secreted in a soluble form that does not affect CCA progression. Moreover, evaluation of EV glycosylation in CCA patients shows that fucosylation level of EV-Hp gradually increases with tumor progression and decreases markedly when the tumors are eliminated by surgery.ConclusionThis study suggests that terminal fucosylation of Hp in cancer-derived exosomes can be a novel glycan marker for diagnosis and prognosis of CCA. These findings highlight the potential of glycan analysis in different fractions of serum for biomarker discover for other diseases. Further research is needed to understand the role of fucosylated EVs on CCA progression

Effect of High-Temperature Annealing on Ion-Implanted Silicon Solar Cells

P-type and n-type wafers were implanted with phosphorus and boron, respectively, for emitter formation and were annealed subsequently at 950∼1050∘C for 30∼90 min for activation. Boron emitters were activated at 1000∘C or higher, while phosphorus emitters were activated at 950∘C. QSSPC measurements show that the implied Voc of boron emitters increases about 15 mV and the J01 decreases by deep junction annealing even after the activation due to the reduced recombination in the emitter. However, for phosphorus emitters the implied Voc decreases from 622 mV to 560 mV and the J01 increases with deep junction annealing. This is due to the abrupt decrease in the bulk lifetime of the p-type wafer itself from 178 μs to 14 μs. PC1D simulation based on these results shows that, for p-type implanted solar cells, increasing the annealing temperature and time abruptly decreases the efficiency (Δηabs=−1.3%), while, for n-type implanted solar cells, deep junction annealing increases the efficiency and Voc, especially (Δηabs=+0.4%) for backside emitter solar cells

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good

Search for stop and higgsino production using diphoton Higgs boson decays

Results are presented of a search for a "natural" supersymmetry scenario with gauge mediated symmetry breaking. It is assumed that only the supersymmetric partners of the top-quark (stop) and the Higgs boson (higgsino) are accessible. Events are examined in which there are two photons forming a Higgs boson candidate, and at least two b-quark jets. In 19.7 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, recorded in the CMS experiment, no evidence of a signal is found and lower limits at the 95% confidence level are set, excluding the stop mass below 360 to 410 GeV, depending on the higgsino mass

Severe early onset preeclampsia: short and long term clinical, psychosocial and biochemical aspects

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy specific disorder commonly defined as de novo hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks gestational age. It occurs in approximately 3-5% of pregnancies and it is still a major cause of both foetal and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide1. As extensive research has not yet elucidated the aetiology of preeclampsia, there are no rational preventive or therapeutic interventions available. The only rational treatment is delivery, which benefits the mother but is not in the interest of the foetus, if remote from term. Early onset preeclampsia (<32 weeks’ gestational age) occurs in less than 1% of pregnancies. It is, however often associated with maternal morbidity as the risk of progression to severe maternal disease is inversely related with gestational age at onset2. Resulting prematurity is therefore the main cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in patients with severe preeclampsia3. Although the discussion is ongoing, perinatal survival is suggested to be increased in patients with preterm preeclampsia by expectant, non-interventional management. This temporising treatment option to lengthen pregnancy includes the use of antihypertensive medication to control hypertension, magnesium sulphate to prevent eclampsia and corticosteroids to enhance foetal lung maturity4. With optimal maternal haemodynamic status and reassuring foetal condition this results on average in an extension of 2 weeks. Prolongation of these pregnancies is a great challenge for clinicians to balance between potential maternal risks on one the eve hand and possible foetal benefits on the other. Clinical controversies regarding prolongation of preterm preeclamptic pregnancies still exist – also taking into account that preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the Netherlands5 - a debate which is even more pronounced in very preterm pregnancies with questionable foetal viability6-9. Do maternal risks of prolongation of these very early pregnancies outweigh the chances of neonatal survival? Counselling of women with very early onset preeclampsia not only comprises of knowledge of the outcome of those particular pregnancies, but also knowledge of outcomes of future pregnancies of these women is of major clinical importance. This thesis opens with a review of the literature on identifiable risk factors of preeclampsia

Measurement of associated W plus charm production in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

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