Status of Ultra-High Concentrator Multijunction Solar Cell Development at IES-UPM.

After the successful implementation of a record performing dual-junction solar cell at ultra high concentration, in this paper we present the optimization of key aspects in the transition to a triple-junction device, namely the hetero nucleation of III-V structures onto germanium substrates. This optimization is based on in-situ RAS measurements during the MOVPE growth of the triple-junction solar cell structure and subsequent AFM analysis. The correlation between RAS and AFM allows detecting which RAS features correlate with good morphology and low RMS roughness. TEM analysis confirms that the quality of the triple-junction structures grown is good, revealing no trace of antiphase disorder, and showing flat, sharp and clear interfaces. Triple-junction solar cells manufactured on these structures have shown a peak efficiency of 36.2% at 700X, maintaining an efficiency over 35% from 300 to 1200 suns

Estudio de la accesibilidad de las interfaces gráficas en la televisión de alta definición

La televisión digital permite un incremento del número de servicios difundidos. Esto puede derivar en que la gestión de los mismos se dificulte de manera notable para el usuario con discapacidad. Así mismo, la televisión digital se caracteriza por la proliferación de interfaces gráficas, por ejemplo, menús de configuración, guías de programas y miniguías, aplicaciones interactivas... Las interfaces gráficas de usuario suponen una de las barreras más importantes que las personas ciegas y con discapacidad visual encuentran al interactuar con estos nuevos servicios. Por otra parte, teniendo en cuenta las necesidades de las personas con resto visual, también se habría de considerar la posibilidad de poder configurar por parte del usuario aquellos elementos gráficos y textuales que aparecen en su pantalla, fundamentalmente, el tamaño y color de letra, así como el adecuado contraste de ésta con el color de fondo sobre el que aparezc

Integration of III-V materials on Silicon Substrates for Multi-junction Solar Cell Applications

The work presented here aims to reduce the cost of multijunction solar cell technology by developing ways to manufacture them on cheap substrates such as silicon. In particular, our main objective is the growth of III-V semiconductors on silicon substrates for photovoltaic applications. The goal is to create a GaAsP/Si virtual substrates onto which other III-V cells could be integrated with an interesting efficiency potential. This technology involves several challenges due to the difficulty of growing III-V materials on silicon. In this paper, our first work done aimed at developing such structure is presented. It was focused on the development of phosphorus diffusion models on silicon and on the preparation of an optimal silicon surface to grow on it III-V materials

Influence of dietary fiber upon in vitro microbial cecal fermentation in mexican hairless and mexican cuino pigs

The objective of the present study was to evaluate and compare the in vitro cecal fermentation (by the gas production technique), in Mexican hairless pig (MHP) and Mexican cuino pig (MCP), adding cellulose or starch as substrates (0, 100, 200, 300 and 400 mg/g DM). 12 pigs were slaughtered (BW= 104±0.5 kg), six of each genotype were collected from the cecal contents and there was a pool for every two pigs in each genotype, and thereafter, for each substrate (cellulose or starch) in its different concentration, three flasks were incubated with inoculum for each pool and made three series of incubation. The experimental design use the effect of genotype, substrate and concentration of the substrate added on the variables of in vitro fermentation. The averages of the data were compared by Tukey's method. In vitro gas production was higher (P<0.05) (mL/g DM) for MHP (206.8) vs MCP (180.2). The degradation fractional rate rhythm (b, 0.094 and c, -0.0127) and lag time (1.79) of the MHP was higher than MCP (b, 0.074; c -0.102) and lag time (1.26); with the addition of carbohydrates as substrates, in vitro gas production of potato starch was higher (P<0.05) than cellulose (238.3 vs 148.7 mL/g DM); the fractions b, c and lag time, there were differences (P<0.05) between substrates. The increasing addition of cellulose or starch had a lineal effect (P<0.05) with the gas production, level cero mg (133.46) to 400 mg of substrate (263.16 mL/g DM). MHP had a higher cecal fermentation than MCP, being higher the gas production at 9 and 12 h, there was higher gas production (cecal fermentation) when added starch as substrate

Dynamic Edematous Response of the Human Heart to Myocardial Infarction Implications for Assessing Myocardial Area at Risk and Salvage

BACKGROUND: Clinical protocols aimed to characterize the post-myocardial infarction (MI) heart by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) need to be standardized to take account of dynamic biological phenomena evolving early after the index ischemic event. Here, we evaluated the time course of edema reaction in patients with ST-segment-elevation MI by CMR and assessed its implications for myocardium-at-risk (MaR) quantification both in patients and in a large-animal model. METHODS: A total of 16 patients with anterior ST-segment-elevation MI successfully treated by primary angioplasty and 16 matched controls were prospectively recruited. In total, 94 clinical CMR examinations were performed: patients with ST-segment-elevation MI were serially scanned (within the first 3 hours after reperfusion and at 1, 4, 7, and 40 days), and controls were scanned only once. T2 relaxation time in the myocardium (T2 mapping) and the extent of edema on T2-weighted short-tau triple inversion-recovery (ie, CMR-MaR) were evaluated at all time points. In the experimental study, 20 pigs underwent 40-minute ischemia/reperfusion followed by serial CMR examinations at 120 minutes and 1, 4, and 7 days after reperfusion. Reference MaR was assessed by contrast-multidetector computed tomography during the index coronary occlusion. Generalized linear mixed models were used to take account of repeated measurements. RESULTS: In humans, T2 relaxation time in the ischemic myocardium declines significantly from early after reperfusion to 24 hours, and then increases up to day 4, reaching a plateau from which it decreases from day 7. Consequently, edema extent measured by T2-weighted short-tau triple inversion-recovery (CMR-MaR) varied with the timing of the CMR examination. These findings were confirmed in the experimental model by showing that only CMR-MaR values for day 4 and day 7 postreperfusion, coinciding with the deferred edema wave, were similar to values measured by reference contrast-multidetector computed tomography. CONCLUSIONS: Post-MI edema in patients follows a bimodal pattern that affects CMR estimates of MaR. Dynamic changes in post-ST-segment-elevation MI edema highlight the need for standardization of CMR timing to retrospectively delineate MaR and quantify myocardial salvage. According to the present clinical and experimental data, a time window between days 4 and 7 post-MI seems a good compromise solution for standardization. Further studies are needed to study the effect of other factors on these variables.This study was partially supported by a competitive grant from the Spanish Society of Cardiology (Proyectos de Investigacion Traslacional en Cardiologia de la Sociedad Espanola de Cardiologia 2015, for the project Caracterizacion tiSUlar miocaRdica con resonancia magnetica en pacientes tras inFarto agudo de mioCardio con elevacioN de ST sometidos a angloplastia Coronaria primaria. Estudio SURF-CNIC), by a competitive grant from the Carlos III Institute of Health-Fondo de Investigacion Sanitaria- and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF/FEDER) (PI10/02268 and PI13/01979), the Spanish Ministry of economy, industry, and competitiveness (MEIC) and ERDF/FEDER SAF2013-49663-EXP. Dr Fernandez-Jimenez holds a FICNIC fellowship from the Fundacio Jesus Serra, the Fundacion Interhospitalaria de Investigacion Cardiovascular, and the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC), and Dr Aguero is a FP7-PEOPLE-2013-ITN-Cardionext fellow. This study forms part of a Master Research Agreement between the CNIC and Philips Healthcare, and is part of a bilateral research program between Hospital de Salamanca Cardiology Department and the CNIC. This research program is part of an institutional agreement between FIIS-Fundacion Jimenez Diaz and CNIC. The CNIC is supported by the MEIC and the Pro CNIC Foundation, and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (MEIC award SEV-2015-0505).S

Staging Parkinson’s disease according to the MNCD classification correlates with caregiver burden

Malaltia de Parkinson; Cuidador; Símptomes no motorsParkinson's disease; Caregiver; Non-motor symptomsEnfermedad de Parkinson; Cuidador; Síntomas no motoresBackground and objective: Recently, we demonstrated that staging Parkinson's disease (PD) with a novel simple classification called MNCD, based on four axes (motor, non-motor, cognition, and dependency) and five stages, correlated with disease severity and patients’ quality of life. Here, we analyzed the correlation of MNCD staging with PD caregiver's status. Patients and methods: Data from the baseline visit of PD patients and their principal caregiver recruited from 35 centers in Spain from the COPPADIS cohort from January 2016 to November 2017 were used to apply the MNCD total score (from 0 to 12) and MNCD stages (from 1 to 5) in this cross-sectional analysis. Caregivers completed the Zarit Caregiver Burden Inventory (ZCBI), Caregiver Strain Index (CSI), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), PQ-10, and EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index (EUROHIS-QOL8). Results: Two hundred and twenty-four PD patients (63 ± 9.6 years old; 61.2% males) and their caregivers (58.5 ± 12.1 years old; 67.9% females) were included. The frequency of MNCD stages was 1, 7.6%; 2, 58.9%; 3, 31.3%; and 4–5, 2.2%. A more advanced MNCD stage was associated with a higher score on the ZCBI (p < .0001) and CSI (p < .0001), and a lower score on the PQ-10 (p = .001), but no significant differences were observed in the BDI-II (p = .310) and EUROHIS-QOL8 (p = .133). Moderate correlations were observed between the MNCD total score and the ZCBI (r = .496; p < .0001), CSI (r = .433; p < .0001), and BDI-II (r = .306; p < .0001) in caregivers.Conclusion: Staging PD according to the MNCD classification is correlated with caregivers’ strain and burden.Fundación Española de Ayuda a la Investigación en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas y/o de Origen Genético; Alpha Bioresearch; Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Grant/Award Number: PI16/0157

Clinical and structural brain correlates of hypomimia in early-stage Parkinson's disease

Altres ajuts: acord transformatiu CRUE-CSICBackground and purpose: Reduced facial expression of emotions is a very frequent symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD) and has been considered part of the motor features of the disease. However, the neural correlates of hypomimia and the relationship between hypomimia and other non-motor symptoms of PD are poorly understood. Methods: The clinical and structural brain correlates of hypomimia were studied. For this purpose, cross-sectional data from the COPPADIS study database were used. Age, disease duration, levodopa equivalent daily dose, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part III (UPDRS-III), severity of apathy and depression and global cognitive status were collected. At the imaging level, analyses based on gray matter volume and cortical thickness were used. Results: After controlling for multiple confounding variables such as age or disease duration, the severity of hypomimia was shown to be indissociable from the UPDRS-III speech and bradykinesia items and was significantly related to the severity of apathy (β = 0.595; p < 0.0001). At the level of neural correlates, hypomimia was related to motor regions brodmann area 8 (BA 8) and to multiple fronto-temporo-parietal regions involved in the decoding, recognition and production of facial expression of emotions. Conclusion: Reduced facial expressivity in PD is related to the severity of symptoms of apathy and is mediated by the dysfunction of brain systems involved in motor control and in the recognition, integration and expression of emotions. Therefore, hypomimia in PD may be conceptualized not exclusively as a motor symptom but as a consequence of a multidimensional deficit leading to a symptom where motor and non-motor aspects converge

Genetic landscape of 6089 inherited retinal dystrophies affected cases in Spain and their therapeutic and extended epidemiological implications

Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), defined by dysfunction or progressive loss of photoreceptors, are disorders characterized by elevated heterogeneity, both at the clinical and genetic levels. Our main goal was to address the genetic landscape of IRD in the largest cohort of Spanish patients reported to date. A retrospective hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out on 6089 IRD affected individuals (from 4403 unrelated families), referred for genetic testing from all the Spanish autonomous communities. Clinical, demographic and familiar data were collected from each patient, including family pedigree, age of appearance of visual symptoms, presence of any systemic findings and geographical origin. Genetic studies were performed to the 3951 families with available DNA using different molecular techniques. Overall, 53.2% (2100/3951) of the studied families were genetically characterized, and 1549 different likely causative variants in 142 genes were identified. The most common phenotype encountered is retinitis pigmentosa (RP) (55.6% of families, 2447/4403). The most recurrently mutated genes were PRPH2, ABCA4 and RS1 in autosomal dominant (AD), autosomal recessive (AR) and X-linked (XL) NON-RP cases, respectively; RHO, USH2A and RPGR in AD, AR and XL for non-syndromic RP; and USH2A and MYO7A in syndromic IRD. Pathogenic variants c.3386G > T (p.Arg1129Leu) in ABCA4 and c.2276G > T (p.Cys759Phe) in USH2A were the most frequent variants identified. Our study provides the general landscape for IRD in Spain, reporting the largest cohort ever presented. Our results have important implications for genetic diagnosis, counselling and new therapeutic strategies to both the Spanish population and other related populations.This work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) of the Spanish Ministry of Health (FIS; PI16/00425 and PI19/00321), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER, 06/07/0036), IIS-FJD BioBank (PT13/0010/0012), Comunidad de Madrid (CAM, RAREGenomics Project, B2017/BMD-3721), European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), the Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE), Fundación Ramón Areces, Fundación Conchita Rábago and the University Chair UAM-IIS-FJD of Genomic Medicine. Irene Perea-Romero is supported by a PhD fellowship from the predoctoral Program from ISCIII (FI17/00192). Ionut F. Iancu is supported by a grant from the Comunidad de Madrid (CAM, PEJ-2017-AI/BMD7256). Marta del Pozo-Valero is supported by a PhD grant from the Fundación Conchita Rábago. Berta Almoguera is supported by a Juan Rodes program from ISCIII (JR17/00020). Pablo Minguez is supported by a Miguel Servet program from ISCIII (CP16/00116). Marta Corton is supported by a Miguel Servet program from ISCIII (CPII17/00006). The funders played no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation and/or publication decisions

Clustering COVID-19 ARDS patients through the first days of ICU admission. An analysis of the CIBERESUCICOVID Cohort

Background Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) can be classified into sub-phenotypes according to different inflammatory/clinical status. Prognostic enrichment was achieved by grouping patients into hypoinflammatory or hyperinflammatory sub-phenotypes, even though the time of analysis may change the classification according to treatment response or disease evolution. We aimed to evaluate when patients can be clustered in more than 1 group, and how they may change the clustering of patients using data of baseline or day 3, and the prognosis of patients according to their evolution by changing or not the cluster.Methods Multicenter, observational prospective, and retrospective study of patients admitted due to ARDS related to COVID-19 infection in Spain. Patients were grouped according to a clustering mixed-type data algorithm (k-prototypes) using continuous and categorical readily available variables at baseline and day 3.Results Of 6205 patients, 3743 (60%) were included in the study. According to silhouette analysis, patients were grouped in two clusters. At baseline, 1402 (37%) patients were included in cluster 1 and 2341(63%) in cluster 2. On day 3, 1557(42%) patients were included in cluster 1 and 2086 (57%) in cluster 2. The patients included in cluster 2 were older and more frequently hypertensive and had a higher prevalence of shock, organ dysfunction, inflammatory biomarkers, and worst respiratory indexes at both time points. The 90-day mortality was higher in cluster 2 at both clustering processes (43.8% [n = 1025] versus 27.3% [n = 383] at baseline, and 49% [n = 1023] versus 20.6% [n = 321] on day 3). Four hundred and fifty-eight (33%) patients clustered in the first group were clustered in the second group on day 3. In contrast, 638 (27%) patients clustered in the second group were clustered in the first group on day 3.Conclusions During the first days, patients can be clustered into two groups and the process of clustering patients may change as they continue to evolve. This means that despite a vast majority of patients remaining in the same cluster, a minority reaching 33% of patients analyzed may be re-categorized into different clusters based on their progress. Such changes can significantly impact their prognosis