Comprehensive Analysis of CdS Ultrathin Films Modified by the Substrate Position inside the Reactor Container Using the CBD Technique.

The cadmium sulfide (CdS) n-type semiconductor is one of the most used as a window layer in thin-film solar cells, such as CdTe, CIS, CIGS, and CZTS. Optoelectronic properties are the most important characteristics for window materials. CdS thin films obtained using the chemical bath deposition technique (CBD) have been reported; however, large amounts of precursor solutions are used, which generate considerable amounts of toxic waste. The aim of this work is to reduce the amount of precursor solutions used for CdS growth; for this, it is necessary to consider an efficient position for the substrate inside the reactor container and at the same time allow obtaining CdS thin films with adequate physical properties to be applied in the photovoltaic solar cell development. CdS thin films were deposited on soda-lime/SnO2:F substrates (FTO) using the CBD technique; the substrates were placed in three different arrangements [rack system, step system (up), and step system (down)]. CdS samples with areas of 4 cm2 and a thickness of 27-48 nm were obtained; the X-ray diffraction patterns show CdS thin films with different polycrystalline structures. The morphological measurements reveal different surface formations depending on the substrate position, and resistivity values of around 105 Ω*cm were measured. UV-vis spectra show transmittance values of around 45-94% in the visible region with band gap energy values of around 2.1-2.36 eV. The best physical properties of CdS thin films and an efficient CBD process were obtained when the FTO substrates were located near the bottom of the reactor container with the FTO side down, leading to an optimal configuration that allows reducing the amount of precursor solutions and in this way reduces the toxic waste generated. These results are important in the photovoltaic technology process and environmental impact.

Signal Perceptron: On the Identifiability of Boolean Function Spaces and Beyond.

In a seminal book, Minsky and Papert define the perceptron as a limited implementation of what they called "parallel machines." They showed that some binary Boolean functions including XOR are not definable in a single layer perceptron due to its limited capacity to learn only linearly separable functions. In this work, we propose a new more powerful implementation of such parallel machines. This new mathematical tool is defined using analytic sinusoids-instead of linear combinations-to form an analytic signal representation of the function that we want to learn. We show that this re-formulated parallel mechanism can learn, with a single layer, any non-linear k-ary Boolean function. Finally, to provide an example of its practical applications, we show that it outperforms the single hidden layer multilayer perceptron in both Boolean function learning and image classification tasks, while also being faster and requiring fewer parameters.

Jatropha curcas leaves analysis, reveals it as mineral source for low sodium diets.

Jatropha curcas is a perennial herb, belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae, found in countries such as India, Mexico and Venezuela. In the present study, proximate composition and mineral content on the leaves of J. curcas was analysed and compared to spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) using a ICP-AES. The bromatologic test (dry material) results for ashes, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates revealed 23.4%, 28.0%, 3.2% and 45.4% for J. curcas; whereas for S. oleracea values were 28.9%, 20.8%, 0.5% and 49.9%. Furthermore, minerals found in both species ashes were: calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron and phosphorus, resulting that leaves of J. curcas are composed by three times the iron and calcium amount comparing to spinach; while sodium was absent from the former species. In this study Cu and Zn were found only in spinach, while Pb and As were not detected in any of the studied species. These results indicate that J. curcas leaves might be considered as mineral source suitable for animal and human consumption, especially for people who requires a low sodium diet.

Componentes volátiles de las hojas de Pimenta racemosa var racemosa(Mill. ) JW Moore (Myrtaceae) de Táchira – Venezuela / Volatile compounds of Pimenta racemosa var racemosa (Mill. ) JW Moore (Myrtaceae) leaves from Táchira-Venezuela

Pimenta racemosa var. racemosa (Mill.) J.W. Moore, is a Caribbean arboreal plant belonging to the family Myrtaceae with a special interest in their leaves for the production of essential oil, commonly known as "Bay-Rum". Steam distillation of fresh leaves collected in April 2012 produced two types of essential oil, one of these resulted lighter than water and was named (AL) and the other one heavier than water (AP). Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis showed the presence of 17 components constituting 99.9 percent for AL, being the major compounds: eugenol (60.4 percent), myrcene (11.7 percent), chavicol (6.0 percent), limonene (5.4 percent) and linalool (4.4 percent); for the AP, 13components were identified (98.3 percent) from which eugenol (82.9 percent) and chavicol (9.3 percent) were in major proportions.

Pimenta racemosa var. racemosa (Mill.) J.W. Moore, es una planta caribeña, arbórea, perteneciente a la familia Myrtaceae y con un especial interés en sus hojas para la producción del aceite esencial comúnmente conocido como “Bay-Rum”. La destilación por arrastrecon vapor de las hojas frescas colectadas en abril 2012 produjo dos tipos de aceites esenciales, uno ligero (AL) y otro más pesado que elagua (AP). El análisis de sus componentes volátiles por cromatografía de gases/espectrometría de masas mostró 17 componentes lo que constituye el 99,9 por ciento del AL de los cuales los mayoritarios fueron eugenol (60,4 por ciento), mirceno (11,7 por ciento), chavicol (6,0 por ciento), limoneno (5,4 por ciento) ylinalool (4,4 por ciento); para el AP, 13 componentes fueron identificados (98,3 por ciento) de los cuales eugenol (82,9 por ciento) y chavicol (9,3 por ciento) fueron los mayoritarios.

[Diagnosis of perioperative myocardial infarction within the first seventy-two hours after cardiac surgery]. / Diagnóstico de infarto miocárdico perioperatorio dentro de las primeras 72 horas posteriores a la cirugía cardiaca.

UNLABELLED: One of the most frequent complications of cardiac surgery is the perioperative myocardial infarction (PMI). Incidence of PMI shows a wide variation because an accurate detection of this complication is difficult in the early postoperative stage. The objectives of the present study were to determine in our population of patients the incidence of PMI during the first seventy two hours after cardiac surgery as well as associations among the accepted criteria to diagnose this complication. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred sixty four adults patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery were studied. With baselines preoperative studies, serial electrocardiographic, enzymatic [(determination of serum creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB)] and echocardiographic studies were performed during the first 72 hours after cardiac surgery. Diagnosis of PMI was established with two or all the three positive criteria [electrocardiographic (ECG), enzymatic (CK-MB) and echocardiographic (ECHO)]. RESULTS: In 24 (15%) patients PMI was diagnosed. In this group 13 (54%) all the three criteria were positive. In 8 (33%) patients CK-MB and ECHO were positive. In 3 (13%) patients CK-MB and ECG were positive. CONCLUSIONS: In our population the incidence of PMI (15%) is agree with the reported in previous studies. In most of cases of PMI all the three diagnostic criteria are positive. When diagnosis is established only with two criteria, in most of cases these are CK-MB and ECHO.

Diagnóstico de infarto miocárdico perioperatorio dentro de las primeras 72 horas posteriores a la cirugía cardiaca / Diagnosis of perioperative myocardial infarction within the first seventy-two hours after cardiac surgery

One of the most frequent complications of cardiac surgery is the perioperative myocardial infarction (PMI). Incidence of PMI shows a wide variation because an accurate detection of this complication is difficult in the early postoperative stage. The objectives of the present study were to determine in our population of patients the incidence of PMI during the first seventy two hours after cardiac surgery as well as associations among the accepted criteria to diagnose this complication. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred sixty four adults patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery were studied. With baselines preoperative studies, serial electrocardiographic, enzymatic [(determination of serum creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB)] and echocardiographic studies were performed during the first 72 hours after cardiac surgery. Diagnosis of PMI was established with two or all the three positive criteria [electrocardiographic (ECG), enzymatic (CK-MB) and echocardiographic (ECHO)]. RESULTS: In 24 (15%) patients PMI was diagnosed. In this group 13 (54%) all the three criteria were positive. In 8 (33%) patients CK-MB and ECHO were positive. In 3 (13%) patients CK-MB and ECG were positive. CONCLUSIONS: In our population the incidence of PMI (15%) is agree with the reported in previous studies. In most of cases of PMI all the three diagnostic criteria are positive. When diagnosis is established only with two criteria, in most of cases these are CK-MB and ECHO.