Paternal Body Mass Index (BMI) Is Associated with Offspring Intrauterine Growth in a Gender Dependent Manner

Background: Environmental alternations leading to fetal programming of cardiovascular diseases in later life have been attributed to maternal factors. However, animal studies showed that paternal obesity may program cardio-metabolic diseases in the offspring. In the current study we tested the hypothesis that paternal BMI may be associated with fetal growth. Methods and Results: We analyzed the relationship between paternal body mass index (BMI) and birth weight, ultrasound parameters describing the newborn’s body shape as well as parameters describing the newborns endocrine system such as cortisol, aldosterone, renin activity and fetal glycated serum protein in a birth cohort of 899 father/mother/child triplets. Since fetal programming is an offspring sex specific process, male and female offspring were analyzed separately. Multivariable regression analyses considering maternal BMI, paternal and maternal age, hypertension during pregnancy, maternal total glycated serum protein, parity and either gestational age (for birth weight) or time of ultrasound investigation (for ultrasound parameters) as confounding showed that paternal BMI is associated with growth of the male but not female offspring. Paternal BMI correlated with birth parameters of male offspring only: birth weight; biparietal diameter, head circumference; abdominal diameter, abdominal circumference; and pectoral diameter. Cortisol was likewise significantly correlated with paternal BMI in male newborns only

Fabrication and characterization of ZnO thin films using sol-gel spin coating technique

This thesis demonstrates the methodologies of sol-gel spin coating technique developed to optimize and improve the quality and uniformity of the ZnO thin films coated on glass substrates. Various processing parameters of the sol-gel spin coating technique including post-annealing temperature, post-annealing environment, spinning speed, and aluminium (Al) molar concentration were explored in this research. The effects of the stated parameters on the surface morphology, structural, optical, and electrical properties of ZnO thin films were characterized using characterization tools namely atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy, and Hall Effect measurement system

Ga-Sn Co-Doped ZnO Films via Sol-Gel Route

Zinc oxide (ZnO) has gained worldwide attention due to its direct wide band gap and large exciton binding energy, which are important properties in the application of emerging optoelectronic devices. By doping ZnO with donor elements, a combination of good n-type conductivity and good transparency in the visible and near UV range can be achieved. Co-doping ZnO with several types of dopants is also beneficial in improving the electronic properties of ZnO films. To the best of our knowledge, the fundamental properties of gallium-tin (Ga-Sn) co-doped ZnO (GSZO) films were rarely explored. In this work, we attempt to coat GSZO films on glass substrates via sol-gel spin-coating method. The Ga-Sn co-doping ratio was fixed at 1:1 and the concentration of the dopants was varied at 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2 at.% with respect to the precursor. The AFM image show granular features on the morphology of all GSZO films. All samples also exhibit a preferential c-axis orientation as detected by XRD. The XRD indicates higher crystal quality and larger crystallite size on GSZO thin films at 2.0 at.% and agrees well with the AFM results. However, the transparency and optical band-gap of the GSZO thin films degrade with higher co-doping concentration. The best electrical properties were achieved at co-doping concentration of 1 at.% with conductivity and carrier density of 7.50 × 10-2 S/cm and 1.37 × 1016 cm-3, respectively. At 1.0 at.% co-doping concentration, optimal optical transmittance and electrical properties were achieved, making it promising in the application of optoelectronics

Modeling of Copper Zinc Tin Sulfide Solar Cells with Various Buffers Using SCAPS‐1D

Recently, researchers have shown a strong interest in research on quaternary semiconductor copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) photovoltaic cells. These cells have a high absorption coefficient, a direct bandgap, and excellent electrical properties. However, the toxicity of cadmium (Cd) in the cadmium sulfide (CdS) buffer layer in standard CZTS solar cells, can generate severe environmental contamination that is hazardous to humans. As a result, building a Cd-free CZTS solar cell is critical. Meanwhile, given that the peak power conversion efficiency of CZTS solar cells stands at a modest 11%, this study is dedicated to identifying an optimal approach for replacing the environmentally hazardous CdS layers to enhance overall efficiency. SCAPS-1D is a one-dimensional solar cell simulation program commonly used to examine proposed solar cells without building them. This study highlights the performance of CZTS with various nontoxic buffer layers, as well as the key results obtained through numerical research with SCAPS-1

Effects of annealing temperature on ZnO and AZO films prepared by sol–gel technique

Zinc oxide (ZnO) films have the potential in the emerging thin-film technologies which can be employed in thin-film solar cells, transistors, sensors and other optoelectronic devices. In this work, low cost sol-gel spin-coating technique was used to synthesize the ZnO films. The influences of annealing temperature on the structural and optical properties of ZnO and aluminum doped ZnO (AZO) films were investigated. The structural properties of the ZnO films such as surface morphology and crystallinity were determined using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD), respectively. The optical properties of the ZnO films were characterized by the ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy and Tauc method was adopted to estimate the optical gap. The experimental results reveal that the thermal annealing treatment affects the properties of the ZnO films. The effects of the low range annealing temperature on the sol-gel ZnO films addressed in this investigation will be discussed in this paper. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved

Al and Ga doped ZnO films prepared by a sol–gel spin coating technique

ZnO is a promising material suitable for variety of novel electronic applications including sensors, transistors, and solar cells. Intrinsic ZnO film has inferiority in terms of electronic properties, which has prompted researches and investigations on doped ZnO films in order to improve its electronic properties. In this work, aluminium (Al) doped ZnO (AZO) and gallium (Ga) doped ZnO (GZO) films were coated on glass substrates by a sol–gel spin coating technique. AZO and GZO films were examined using XRD, AFM, FESEM, UV–vis spectroscopy, and Hall Effect measurement system to investigate the structural, morphology, optical transmittance, and electronic properties of the films. Highly c-axis oriented and transparent AZO and GZO films with distinct peak at 34.5° corresponding to (002) orientation were obtained. The decrease of (002) peak was observed with higher doping level. The optical transmittances in the visible region are in the range of 80–95%. Samples with 1 at% Al and 2 at% Ga showed the lowest electrical resistivity. The correlation of the doping level of Al and Ga on doped ZnO films will be revealed in this work

A Review on the Progress, Challenges, and Performances of Tin-Based Perovskite Solar Cells

first_pagesettingsOrder Article Reprints Open AccessReview A Review on the Progress, Challenges, and Performances of Tin-Based Perovskite Solar Cells by Yuen-Ean Lye 1ORCID,Kah-Yoong Chan 2ORCID andZi-Neng Ng 1,*ORCID 1 School of Electrical Engineering and Artificial Intelligence, Xiamen University Malaysia, Jalan Sunsuria, Bandar Sunsuria, Sepang 43900, Selangor, Malaysia 2 Centre for Advanced Devices and Systems, Faculty of Engineering, Multimedia University, Persiaran Multimedia, Cyberjaya 63100, Selangor, Malaysia * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Nanomaterials 2023, 13(3), 585; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13030585 Received: 16 December 2022 / Revised: 19 January 2023 / Accepted: 28 January 2023 / Published: 1 February 2023 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Synthesis of New Photoactive Perovskite Nanomaterials) Download Browse Figures Review Reports Versions Notes Abstract In this twenty-first century, energy shortages have become a global issue as energy demand is growing at an astounding rate while the energy supply from fossil fuels is depleting. Thus, the urge to develop sustainable renewable energy to replace fossil fuels is significant to prevent energy shortages. Solar energy is the most promising, accessible, renewable, clean, and sustainable substitute for fossil fuels. Third-generation (3G) emerging solar cell technologies have been popular in the research field as there are many possibilities to be explored. Among the 3G solar cell technologies, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are the most rapidly developing technology, making them suitable for generating electricity efficiently with low production costs. However, the toxicity of Pb in organic–inorganic metal halide PSCs has inherent shortcomings, which will lead to environmental contamination and public health problems. Therefore, developing a lead-free perovskite solar cell is necessary to ensure human health and a pollution-free environment. This review paper summarized numerous types of Sn-based perovskites with important achievements in experimental-based studies to date

P-Type Characteristic of Nitrogen-Doped ZnO Films

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a promising material for emerging electronic and photonic applications due to its wide direct band gap and large exciton binding energy. Despite on-going developments, the control of the conductivity type in ZnO films continues to be a challenge. Stable p-type ZnO is required in order to fabricate standalone ZnO-based devices. Nitrogen is considered as a promising candidate to produce a shallow acceptor level in ZnO, since it has similar radii and electrical structure to oxygen. In this experiment, we utilize the low cost sol–gel spin coating technique to fabricate nitrogen-doped ZnO (ZnO:N) films. All films show great optical transmittance above 80% in the visible region. ZnO:N film at 15 at.% doping concentration shows strong UV emission and exhibits low resistivity. A p–n homojunction device based on ZnO:N shows characteristic of a typical rectifying diode, with a turn-on voltage of approximately 1.2 V

Influence of spinning speed on the properties of sol-gel spin coated ZnO films

In this work, ZnO films were fabricated by sol-gel spin coating technique. Different spinning speeds of 1000 to 6000 revolutions per minute (RPM) were used in order to study the changes on the properties of the ZnO films. The characterizations were conducted using surface profilometer for thickness measurement, atomic force microscopy (AFM) for surface scanning, X-ray diffractometer (XRD) for structural analysis, and ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectrophotometer for optical transmittance. The influence of spinning speed and the mechanisms which affect the growth of the ZnO films will be revealed