Ligand‐Free Synthesis of Aluminum‐Doped Zinc Oxide Nanocrystals and their Use as Optical Spacers in Color‐Tuned Highly Efficient Organic Solar Cells

The color of polymer solar cells using an opaque electrode is given by the reflected light, which depends on the composition and thickness of each layer of the device. Metal‐oxide‐based optical spacers are intensively studied in polymer solar cells aiming to optimize the light absorption. However, the low conductivity of materials such as ZnO and TiO₂ limits the thickness of such optical spacers to tenths of nanometers. A novel synthesis route of cluster‐free Al‐doped ZnO (AZO) nanocrystals (NCs) is presented for solution processing of highly conductive layers without the need of temperature annealing, including thick optical spacers on top of polymer blends. The processing of 80 nm thick optical spacers based on AZO nanocrystal solutions on top of 200 nm thick polymer blend layer is demonstrated leading to improved photocurrent density of 17% compared to solar cells using standard active layers of 90 nm in combination with thin ZnO‐based optical spacers. These AZO NCs also open new opportunities for the processing of high‐efficiency color tuned solar cells. For the first time, it is shown that applying solution‐processed thick optical spacer with polymer blends of different thicknesses can process solar cells of similar efficiency over 7% but of different colors.     

Malaria in the southern sanitary district of Dakar (Senegal). 2. Entomologic data]

This study aimed to investigate the cause of persistently increased serum gastrin concentration seen in some Graves' disease patients even when euthyroid during antithyroid drug treatment. The subjects studied consisted of three groups: 33 patients with a common-type of Graves' disease, 14 with triiodothyronine (T3)-predominant Graves' disease (characterized from previous studies as having potent immunologic abnormalities including greater concentrations of thyroid-stimulating antibodies together with larger goiter size), and a group of 20 normal subjects. Fasting serum gastrin concentrations in common Graves' disease patients were significantly higher than those of normal subjects (58.4 +/- 38.9 pmol/L vs. 37.8 +/- 18.9 pmol/L [mean +/- SD], p < 0.05). The serum gastrin concentrations were even greater in T3-predominant Graves' disease patients than common Graves' disease patients (162.9 +/- 224.0 pmol/L vs. 58.4 +/- 38.9 pmol/L, p < .05). Serum pepsinogen I (PGI) concentrations were significantly lower in the T3-predominant patient group than the common Graves' group (24.0 +/- 12.9 ng/mL vs. 39.7 +/- 19.6 ng/mL, p < .05). Serum ratios of PG I to PG II were significantly lower in the T3-predominant Graves' disease patients than normal subjects (3.59 +/- 2.66 vs. 5.97 +/- 1.56, p < .01). The ratios also had a significant (p < .05) inverse correlation with serum gastrin concentrations in T3-predominant Graves' disease patients. The results suggest that autoimmune gastritis is associated with Graves' disease, particularly in patients with potent thyroid-autoimmunity.     

TMPA 卫星降水数据的评估与校正

卫星遥感降水由于时空分辨率的优势在现代水文模拟中正起着越来越大的作用。本研究对黄河源区的两套卫星降水产品(TMPA准实时3B42RT和研究数据3B42V6)进行了详细评估,结果表明,3B42RT与3B42V6相比会明显高估地面降水,而两者对降水事件的反演能力基本一致。通过引入"降水重心"的概念,两套卫星降水产品均可以基本反映降水的空间分布及长期演变过程。在两者尤其是3B42RT数据的校正中,首先将卫星数据与地面站点月降水对比,再等比例降尺度回日降水,然后尝试逐步订正和最优插值两种残差处理方法,从而使降水量和降水分布的精度进一步提高。最后用校正后的卫星降水驱动分布式水文模型,利用输出径流间接验证校正的效果。     

Improving microbiological food Safety in peri-urban Mali; an experimental study

IntroductionTwenty years ago, a WHO review of the literature assumed that most food-borne disease transmission in developing countries takes place within the home, and advocated a major programme of interdisciplinary research to develop and test cost-effective interventions to promote food hygiene.MethodsThe HACCP approach was applied step by step, to two selected weaning foods prepared by 15 volunteer mothers in peri-urban Mali. After setting Critical Control Points (CCP), actions were taken to control, reduce or eliminate microbial growth at these points. 432 food samples were collected and examined for thermotolerant coliforms in a local laboratory to assess the effectiveness of the approach. Lessons learnt were translated into messages delivered in a pilot study.ResultsTraditional cooking was very effective in eliminating faecal contamination; reheating was as effective as cooking when adopted, because there was no significant difference in the temperatures reached in both cases. Behavioural corrective actions were effective in controlling faecal contamination at the other CCPs (serving the child after cooking and after reheating).ConclusionIn conclusion, the HACCP experiment improved significantly the bacterial safety of both types of weaning food studied.     

Efficient two-port antenna system for GSM=DCS=UMTS multimode mobile phones

The design of several two-port antenna systems for mobile phones is presented. All these structures are made up of two planar inverted-F antennas closely positioned on a small ground plane and radiating in the GSM900/DCS1800 and UMTS frequency bands. First, the antennas are simply associated at the top edge of the same printed circuit board. Thus, to improve their isolation and their total efficiency, a neutralisation effect is created by means of an optimised suspended line, which links the feeding strips of the radiators. The performance of these systems is measured and compared with theoretical results     

Structural Insight into the Complex of Ferredoxin and [FeFe] Hydrogenase from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

The transfer of photosynthetic electrons by the ferredoxin PetF to the [FeFe] hydrogenase HydA1 in the microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a key step in hydrogen production. Electron delivery requires a specific interaction between PetF and HydA1. However, because of the transient nature of the electron‐transfer complex, a crystal structure remains elusive. Therefore, we performed protein–protein docking based on new experimental data from a solution NMR spectroscopy investigation of native and gallium‐substituted PetF. This provides valuable information about residues crucial for complex formation and electron transfer. The derived complex model might help to pinpoint residue substitution targets for improved hydrogen production.     

Advanced Fault-Tolerant Control of Induction-Motor Drives for EV/HEV Traction Applications: From Conventional to Modern and Intelligent Control Techniques

This paper describes active fault-tolerant control systems for a high-performance induction-motor drive that propels an electrical vehicle (EV) or a hybrid one (HEV). The proposed systems adaptively reorganize themselves in the event of sensor loss or sensor recovery to sustain the best control performance, given the complement of remaining sensors. Moreover, the developed systems take into account the controller-transition smoothness, in terms of speed and torque transients. The two proposed fault-tolerant control strategies have been simulated on a 4-kW induction-motor drive, and speed and torque responses have been carried to evaluate the consistency and the performance of the proposed approaches. Simulation results, in terms of speed and torque responses, show the global effectiveness of the proposed approaches, particularly the one based on modern and intelligent control techniques in terms of speed and torque smoothness     

Polypoid ulcerating endocarditis aortalis caused by Streptococcus viridans with perforation of the right atrium. Pathology and clinical aspects of 2 autopsy cases

We report two cases of patients (one 65 and one 43 years of age, respectively) who died of Streptococcus-viridans induced endocarditis of the aortic valve with perforation into the right atrium. Whereas perforation in Staphylococcus-induced endocarditis is a common complication, it occurs rarely in Streptococcus-induced endocarditis. Because of its uncharacteristic symptoms, the endocarditis was clinically unknown in both cases and was recognized to be the cause of death only at autopsy. To reduce the large number of complications in patients suffering from endocarditis, it is necessary to confirm the diagnosis as soon as possible if endocarditis might be suspected.     

Induction motor stator faults diagnosis by a current Concordia pattern-based fuzzy decision system

This paper deals with the problem of detection and diagnosis of induction motor faults. Using the fuzzy logic strategy, a better understanding of heuristics underlying the motor faults detection and diagnosis process can be achieved. The proposed fuzzy approach is based on the stator current Concordia patterns. Induction motor stator currents are measured, recorded, and used for Concordia patterns computation under different operating conditions, particularly for different load levels. Experimental results are presented in terms of accuracy in the detection of motor faults and knowledge extraction feasibility. The preliminary results show that the proposed fuzzy approach can be used for accurate stator fault diagnosis if the input data are processed in an advantageous way, which is the case of the Concordia patterns.