Using machine learning for prediction of spray coated perovskite solar cells efficiency: From experimental to theoretical models

Low-cost perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have experienced unprecedented gains in power conversion efficiency (PCE) of up to 25% of lab-scale devices. To be realized in the market, however, PSCs are not only required to be efficient but also scalable in production. While spray coating has viability as an industrial manufacturing process for perovskite photovoltaics scaling, optimizing the spray conditions is often seen as a challenging and time-consuming process due to its complex and multidimensional parameters. Herein, we use a machine learning (ML) approach to capture the relationship between spray parameter settings to the resultant photoconversion efficiency (PCE) of PSCs from experimental collected data points. This data-driven approach has the potential to accurately predict PCE values given the manufacturing parameters, enabling optimization and resulting in an increased experimentally recorded PCE. Furthermore, we also used a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to predict defect size distributions in the PSC structures to improve the understanding of defect formation mechanism at given spray parameters. The implications of the results are discussed for optimizing spray manufacturing process of efficient perovskite photovoltaics

A General Approach for Supporting Time Series Matching Using Multiple-Warped Distances

Time series are generated at an unprecedented rate in domains ranging from finance, medicine to education. Collections composed of heterogeneous, variable-length and misaligned times series are best explored using a plethora of dynamic time warping distances. However, the computational costs of using such elastic distances result in unacceptable response times. We thus design the first practical solution for the efficient GENeral EXploration of time series leveraging multiple warped distances. GENEX pre-processes time series data in metric point-wise distance spaces, while providing bounds for the accuracy of corresponding analytics derived in non-metric warped distance spaces. Our empirical evaluation on 66 benchmark datasets provides a comparative study of the accuracy and response times of diverse warped distances. We show that GENEX is a versatile yet highly efficient solution for processing expensive-to-compute warped distances over large datasets, with response times 3 to 5 orders of magnitude faster than state-of-art systems

Telocytes’ Role in Modulating Gut Motility Function and Development: Medical Hypotheses and Literature Review

This review article explores the telocytes’ roles in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), presenting the mechanisms and hypotheses related to epithelial regeneration, progressive fibrosis, and dysmotility as a consequence of TCs’ reduced or absent number. Based on the presented mechanisms and hypotheses, we aim to provide a functional model to illustrate TCs’ possible roles in the normal and pathological functioning of the digestive tract. TCs are influenced by the compression of nearby blood vessels and the degree of fibrosis of the surrounding tissues and mediate these processes in response. The changes in intestinal tube vascularization induced by the movement of the food bowl, and the consequent pH changes that show an anisotropy in the thickness of the intestinal tube wall, have led to the identification of a pattern of intestinal tube development based on telocytes’ ability to communicate and modulate surrounding cell functions. In the construction of the theoretical model, given the predictable occurrence of colic in the infant, the two-layer arrangement of the nerve plexuses associated with the intestinal tube was considered to be incompletely adapted to the motility required with a diversified diet. There is resulting evidence of possible therapeutic targets for diseases associated with changes in local nerve tissue development

Platelets Rich Plasma (PRP) Procedure in the Healing of Atonic Wounds

(1) Background: Patients suffering from chronic wounds report physical, mental, and social consequences due to their existence and care. There is a global need for tissue repair strategies and, in our case, for chronic wound healing. PRP therapy is based on the fact that platelet-derived growth factors (PGF) support the three phases of the wound healing and repair cascade (inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling); (2) Methods: A comparative study was carried out on two groups of patients with atonic wounds totaling a total of 80 cases as follows: a study group in which the PRP procedure was applied and a control group in which the biological product was not injected. The study was carried out in the surgery clinic of the Clinical Hospital C.F. Oradea City; (3) Results: A much faster healing was achieved in the case of patients who benefited from the platelet-rich plasma injection therapy compared to the group of patients in whom this therapy was not used. Three weeks after the plasma injection, a considerable reduction of the wound was evident, with some of the patients presenting with a closed wound; (4) Conclusions: The effect of PRP on the healing of chronic wounds is promising in most cases. A positive effect was also highlighted in terms of reducing treatment costs by considerably reducing the materials used as well as the number of hospitalizations for the same pathology

A Prospective Analysis of Vitamin D Levels in Pregnant Women Diagnosed with Gestational Hypertension after SARS-CoV-2 Infection

The great majority of existing studies suggests that the prognosis and outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infections are improved with adequate vitamin D levels, with or without supplementation. Simultaneously, whether vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy lessens the chance of developing gestational hypertension is controversial. The objective of the present research was to evaluate whether vitamin D levels during pregnancy differ substantially among pregnant women who develop gestational hypertension following SARS-CoV-2 infection. The current research was designed as a prospective cohort following the pregnant women admitted to our clinic with COVID-19 until 36 weeks of gestation. Total vitamin D (25(OH)D) levels were measured in the three study groups in which pregnant women with COVID-19 during pregnancy and a diagnosis of hypertension after 20 weeks of gestation were considered the group of cases (GH-CoV). The second group (CoV) included those with COVID-19 and no hypertension, while the third group (GH) included those with hypertension and no COVID-19. It was observed that 64.4% of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the group of cases occurred during the first trimester, compared to 29.2% in the first trimester among the controls who did not develop GH. Normal vitamin D levels were measured at admission in a significantly higher proportion of pregnant women without GH (68.8% in the CoV group vs. 47.9% in the GH-CoV group and 45.8% in the GH group). At 36 weeks of gestation, the median values of 25(OH)D in the CoV group was 34.4 (26.9–39.7) ng/mL compared to 27.9 (16.2–32.4) ng/mL in the GH-CoV group and 29.5 ng/mL (18.4–33.2) in the GH group, while the blood pressure measurements remained over 140 mmHg among the groups who developed GH. There was a statistically significant negative association between serum 25(OH)D levels and systolic blood pressure (rho = −0.295; p-value = 0.031); however, the risk of developing GH was not significantly higher among pregnant women with COVID-19 if the vitamin D levels were insufficient (OR = 1.19; p-value = 0.092) or deficient (OR = 1.26; p-value = 0.057). Although insufficient or deficient vitamin D among pregnant women with COVID-19 was not an independent risk factor for the development of GH, it is likely that an association between first-trimester SARS-CoV-2 infection and low vitamin D plays a key role in developing gestational hypertension