Transport Properties of a GaAs/InGaAs/GaAs Quantum Well: Temperature, Magnetic Field and Many-body Effects

We investigate the zero and finite temperature transport properties of a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas in a GaAs/InGaAs/GaAs quantum well under a magnetic field, taking into account many-body effects via a local-field correction. We consider the surface roughness, roughness-induced piezoelectric, remote charged impurity and homogenous background charged impurity scattering. The effects of the quantum well width, carrier density, temperature and local-field correction on resistance ratio are investigated. We also consider the dependence of the total mobility on the multiple scattering effect

Fabrication of Organolead Iodide Perovskite Solar Cells with Niobium-doped Titanium Dioxide as Compact Layer

Organometal halide perovskite materials have shown high potential as light absorbers for photovoltaic applications. In this work, perovskite planar solar cells were fabricated on corning substrates with the structure as follows: the first layer made of tantalum-doped tin oxide as transparent contact material, followed by sputtering niobium-doped titanium oxide as the compact electron transport layer; covered with perovskite CH3NH3PbI3 as the light harvester by combination between spin-coating and dipping methods; CuSCN was evaporated as the hole transport layer; the final thin Al/Ag electrodes were deposited. This configuration is shortly described as Al/TTO/NTO/CH3NH3PbI3/CuSCN/Ag. Such heterojunctions are expected to be suitable for the development of efficient hybrid solar cells. The fabricated cells were measured under the air mass 1.5 illumination condition, showed the rectification effect and exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 0.007%, with a open circuit voltage of 53.2 mV, a short circuit current of 0.36 mA/cm2, and a form factor of 37%. The power conversion efficiency will be further optimized in near future

Interventional Treatment of Lymphatic Leakage Post Appendectomy: Case Report

BACKGROUND: Postoperative lymphatic complications are not common, and lymphatic leakage complication post appendectomy (LLCPC) is even rarer. However, the number of this operation is high so LLCPC can occur. CASE REPORT: Here, we report a female patient post appendectomy with severe chylous ascites. This patient underwent six operations. A leakage point at the right iliac-fossa, which was embolized successfully after two sessions, was spotted during intranodal lymphangiography. After 6 months, the ascites were significantly reduced while some lymphatic aneurysms still existed in the lumbar-retroperitoneal region. CONCLUSIONS: Basing the knowledge of this clinical case and literature, we have concluded that lymphatic leakage can be diagnosed and embolized by percutaneous intervention

Effectiveness of perindopril/amlodipine fixed-dose combination in the treatment of hypertension: a systematic review

Background: Uncontrolled blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Fixed-dose combination (FDC) therapy offers a promising approach to addressing this challenge by providing a convenient single-tablet solution that enhances the effectiveness of blood pressure control. In our systematic review, we assess the effectiveness of perindopril/amlodipine FDC in managing blood pressure.Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search across four primary electronic databases, namely, PubMed, Virtual Health Library (VHL), Global Health Library (GHL), and Google Scholar, as of 8 February 2022. Additionally, we performed a manual search to find relevant articles. The quality of the selected articles was evaluated using the Study Quality Assessment Tools (SQAT) checklist from the National Institute of Health and the ROB2 tool from Cochrane.Results: Our systematic review included 17 eligible articles. The findings show that the use of perindopril/amlodipine FDC significantly lowers blood pressure and enhances the quality of blood pressure control. Compared to the comparison group, the perindopril/amlodipine combination tablet resulted in a higher rate of blood pressure response and normalization. Importantly, perindopril/amlodipine FDC contributes to improved patient adherence with minimal side effects. However, studies conducted to date have not provided assessments of the cost-effectiveness of perindopril/amlodipine FDC.Conclusion: In summary, our analysis confirms the effectiveness of perindopril/amlodipine FDC in lowering blood pressure, with combination therapy outperforming monotherapy and placebo. Although mild adverse reactions were observed in a small subset of participants, cost-effectiveness assessments for this treatment remain lacking in the literature

Effects and acceptability of implementing improved cookstoves and heaters to reduce household air pollution: a FRESH AIR study

The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of locally tailored implementation of improved cookstoves/heaters in low- and middle-income countries. This interventional implementation study among 649 adults and children living in rural communities in Uganda, Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan, was performed after situational analyses and awareness programmes. Outcomes included household air pollution (PM2.5 and CO), self-reported respiratory symptoms (with CCQ and MRC-breathlessness scale), chest infections, school absence and intervention acceptability. Measurements were conducted at baseline, 2 and 6-12 months after implementing improved cookstoves/heaters. Mean PM2.5 values decrease by 31% (to 95.1 µg/m3) in Uganda (95%CI 71.5-126.6), by 32% (to 31.1 µg/m3) in Vietnam (95%CI 24.5-39.5) and by 65% (to 32.4 µg/m3) in Kyrgyzstan (95%CI 25.7-40.8), but all remain above the WHO guidelines. CO-levels remain below the WHO guidelines. After intervention, symptoms and infections diminish significantly in Uganda and Kyrgyzstan, and to a smaller extent in Vietnam. Quantitative assessment indicates high acceptance of the new cookstoves/heaters. In conclusion, locally tailored implementation of improved cookstoves/heaters is acceptable and has considerable effects on respiratory symptoms and indoor pollution, yet mean PM2.5 levels remain above WHO recommendations.European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme under grant agreement no. 680997, TRIAL ID NTR5759, http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/admin/rctsearch.asp?Term=23332. The devices, measuring the personal HAP, were funded by Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO

COPD’s early origins in low-and-middle income countries: what are the implications of a false start?

[Excerpt] The Global Initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung disease (GOLD)guideline of 2018 describes COPD as‘the result of a complexinterplay of long-term cumulative exposure to noxious gases andparticles, combined with a variety of host factors includinggenetics, airway hyper-responsiveness and poor lung growthduring childhood’.1Tobacco smoking is traditionally viewed as themain contributing factor to the development of COPD. However,COPD also occurs among non-smokers, especially in low-incomeand middle-income countries (LMICs).2,3Notably, more than 90%of COPD-related deaths occur in LMICs.4For these countries, otherrisk factors, such as ambient, occupational and household airpollution play a significant role in the development of COPD.1,2,5–7Does COPD in these settings have a different pathophysiologicaltrajectory compared to COPD in high-income countries, and if so:what does this imply?In normal lung development, airway branching is completed bythe 17th week of gestation, after which airways increase in volumeuntil young adulthood. Alveoli are present at birth and developfurther during childhood. Lung volume and airflow continue toincrease as the thorax grows, influenced by age, sex, and ethnicity,reaching a peak at young adulthood. Lung function then remainsconstant for about 10 years (the plateau phase), after which itgradually declines.8In the‘classic’COPD patient, the decline inlung function is more rapid than in healthy individuals. However,in a considerable proportion of COPD patients, lung function doesnot decline rapidly, but reaches a lower plateau phase in earlyadulthood instead. For these patients, a completely differentpathophysiological trajectory seems to lead to the diagnosis ofCOPD: the decline in lung function follows a normal pattern, yetthey seem to have a‘false start’by attaining a lower maximumlung function. [...

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

A Cascaded Adaptive Network-Based Fuzzy Inference System for Hydropower Forecasting

Hydropower stands as a crucial source of power in the current world, and there is a vast range of benefits of forecasting power generation for the future. This paper focuses on the significance of climate change on the future representation of the Samanalawewa Reservoir Hydropower Project using an architecture of the Cascaded ANFIS algorithm. Moreover, we assess the capacity of the novel Cascaded ANFIS algorithm for handling regression problems and compare the results with the state-of-art regression models. The inputs to this system were the rainfall data of selected weather stations inside the catchment. The future rainfalls were generated using Global Climate Models at RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 and corrected for their biases. The Cascaded ANFIS algorithm was selected to handle this regression problem by comparing the best algorithm among the state-of-the-art regression models, such as RNN, LSTM, and GRU. The Cascaded ANFIS could forecast the power generation with a minimum error of 1.01, whereas the second-best algorithm, GRU, scored a 6.5 error rate. The predictions were carried out for the near-future and mid-future and compared against the previous work. The results clearly show the algorithm can predict power generation’s variation with rainfall with a slight error rate. This research can be utilized in numerous areas for hydropower development