Copper Outdiffusion from Copper-Plated Solar Cell Contacts during Damp Heat Exposure.

Plated copper (Cu) contacts for silicon (Si) solar cells are an attractive alternative material to conventional screenprinted silver, but there are unresolved questions on the long-term integrity of plated contact structures. In this work, we perform characterization on plated Cu contacts from encapsulated cells that were degraded during extended exposure to damp heat (DH) stress. First, using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, we find evidence of Cu outdiffusion upward through capping layers made of both tin and silver applied with light-induced plating, resulting in a layer of Cu on the outer contact surface. We hypothesize that if Cu is mobile in the module, it may eventually find some route by which to enter the Si cells where it can degrade performance. Subsequently, in several types of Cu-plated, DH-degraded cells, secondary ion mass spectrometry detects elevated levels of Cu at the Si surface and in the Si cell bulk, which suggests that Cu can indeed migrate from contacts into Si over the course of DH stress.

Cardiovascular Risk Assessment in Women With Rheumatoid Arthritis Through Carotid and Femoral Artery Doppler Ultrasound.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to assess cardiovascular risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) classified as low-risk by the Framingham score, before and after the multiplication by 1.5 recommended by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), and to stratify them using carotid and femoral Doppler ultrasound (DUS) in order to optimize the assessment of the asymptomatic cardiovascular disease incidence. METHODS: Thirty-five female patients with RA and 35 healthy women (control group), both with low cardiovascular risk by Framingham score, were enrolled in the study (randomized). All of them underwent carotid and femoral DUS studies. RESULTS: The mean age at diagnosis was 44.57 years, the mean disease duration was 12.11 years and the mean disease activity score according to the Disease Activity Score 28 was 1.91, whereas according to the Clinical Disease Activity Index, it was 6.176. The sample was homogeneous. Within the RA group, 46% showed changes in the carotid and/or femoral DUS, compared with 14% in the control group (p = 0.004). Of the DUS with abnormalities, in the RA group, 31% of the carotid DUS and 81% of the femoral DUS (p = 0.005) showed intima-media thickness and/or atherosclerotic plaques. After EULAR 1.5 multiplication factor, 66% remained low cardiovascular risk. Of these, 35% of the patients showed changes in the carotid and/or femoral DUS, compared with 14% of the control group (p = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS: The EULAR criteria are effective at identifying patients with high cardiovascular risk. Carotid DUS and, especially, femoral DUS are tools that can be used in clinical practice as ways to detect CVD even in its asymptomatic form.

Silicon Heterojunction Microcells.

We report the design, fabrication, and characterization of silicon heterojunction microcells, a new type of photovoltaic cell that leverages high-efficiency bulk wafers in a microscale form factor, while also addressing the challenge of passivating microcell sidewalls to mitigate carrier recombination. We present synthesis methods exploiting either dry etching or laser cutting to realize microcells with native oxide-based edge passivation. Measured microcell performance for both fabrication processes is compared to that in simulations. We characterize the dependence of microcell open-circuit voltage (Voc) on the cell area-perimeter ratio and examine synthesis processes that affect edge passivation quality, such as sidewall damage removal, the passivation material, and the deposition technique. We report the highest Si microcell Voc to date (588 mV, for a 400 µm × 400 µm × 80 µm device), demonstrate Voc improvements with deposited edge passivation of up to 55 mV, and outline a pathway to achieve microcell efficiencies surpassing 15% for such device sizes.

Analytical validation of a prognostic prostate cancer gene expression assay using formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue.

BACKGROUND: There is a clear need for assays that can predict the risk of metastatic prostate cancer following curative procedures. Importantly these assays must be analytically robust in order to provide quality data for important clinical decisions. DNA microarray based gene expression assays measure several analytes simultaneously and can present specific challenges to analytical validation. This study describes the analytical validation of one such assay designed to predict metastatic recurrence in prostate cancer using primary formalin fixed paraffin embedded tumour material. METHODS: Accuracy was evaluated with a method comparison study between the assay development platform (Prostate Disease Specific Array) and an alternative platform (Xcel™ microarray) using 50 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded prostate cancer patient samples. An additional 70 samples were used to establish the assay reportable range. Determination of assay precision and sensitivity was performed on multiple technical replicates of three prostate cancer samples across multiple variables (operators, days, runs, reagent lots, and equipment) and RNA/cDNA inputs respectively using the appropriate linear mixed model. RESULTS: The overall agreement between the development and alternative platform was 94.7% (95% confidence interval, 86.9-98.5%). The reportable range was determined to be 0.150 to 1.107 for core needle biopsy samples and - 0.214 to 0.844 for radical prostatectomy samples. From the precision study, the standard deviations for assay repeatability and reproducibility were 0.032 and 0.040 respectively. The sensitivity study demonstrated that a total RNA input and cDNA input of 50 ng and 3.5 µg respectively was conservative. CONCLUSION: The Metastatic Assay was found to be highly reproducible and precise. In conclusion the studies demonstrated an acceptable analytical performance for the assay and support its potential use in the clinic.

CD105 is regulated by hsa-miR-1287 and its expression is inversely correlated with osteopotential in SHED.

A more accurate understanding of the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways underpinning human mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) plasticity and differentiation properties is pivotal for accomplishing solid and diligent translation of MSC-based experimental therapeutics and clinical trials to broad clinical practice. In addition, this knowledge enables selection of MSC subpopulations with increased differentiation potential and/or use of exogenous factors to boost this potential. Here, we report that CD105 (ENG) is a predictive biomarker of osteogenic potential in two types of MSCs: stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) and human adipose-derived stem cells (hASC). We also validate that CD105 can be used to select and enrich for subpopulations of SHED and hASC with higher in vitro osteogenic potential. In addition, we show that hsa-mir-1287 regulates CD105 expression, and propose that fine-tuning hsa-mir-1287 levels could be used to control osteopotential in SHED. These findings provide better discernment of the molecular bases behind MSC osteogenic plasticity and open up new perspectives to leverage osteogenic potential in MSCs by modulation of a specific miRNA.

Aspectos crônicos de servidores públicos com foco nos problemas de varizes e colesterol elevado / Chronic aspects of public servants with a focus on the problems of varicose veins and high cholesterol

Objetivo: descrever aspectos de saúde crônico-degenerativos dos servidores públicos do IFRN, como, também, inferir as variáveis sociodemográficas com as variáveis mais expressivas: ter varizes e colesterol alto. Método: estudo quantitativo, descritivo, empregando, como instrumento, o questionário fechado. A amostra observada foi de 774 participantes. Foram realizadas análises estatísticas descritivas e inferenciais, considerando-se o quantitativo de respostas que afirmam ter varizes ou colesterol alto. Resultados: os problemas crônicos degenerativos mais expressivos, apontados pelos servidores, são varizes, colesterol e triglicérides elevados, hipertensão e diabetes. As mulheres acima de 35 anos, que têm pós-graduação e companheiro, são as com maiores problemas de varizes. Os servidores acima de 35 anos, que trabalham nos campi da Grande Natal e têm companheiro, apresentam colesterol elevado. Conclusão: sugere-se que os projetos de atenção à saúde dos servidores considerem esses parâmetros como referência para implementar suas ações.

Cell Type-Dependent Nonspecific Fibroblast Growth Factor Signaling in Apert Syndrome.

Apert Syndrome (AS) is one of the most severe forms of craniosynostosis. It is caused by gain-of-function mutations in the receptor fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2), which leads to ligand-receptor promiscuity. Here, we aimed to better understand the behavior of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and of fibroblastoid cells, cellular populations that are part of the suture complex, when stimulated with different fibroblast growth factors (FGFs). We also aimed to verify whether FGFR2 specificity loss due to AS mutations would change their signaling behavior. We tested this hypothesis through cell proliferation and differentiation assays and through gene expression profiling. We found that FGF19 and FGF10 increase proliferation of fibroblastoid cells harboring the FGFR2 p.S252W mutation, but not of mutant MSCs. FGF19 and FGF10 were associated with different expression profiles in p.S252W cells. Further, in accordance to our gene expression microarray data, FGF19 decreases bone differentiation rate of mutant fibroblastoid cells and increases bone differentiation rate of MSCs. This effect in osteogenesis appears to be mediated by BMP signaling. The present data indicate that non-natural FGFR2 ligands, such as FGF10 and FGF19, are important factors in the pathophysiology of AS. Further research is needed to determine the role of modulation of MSC proliferation or use of FGF19 or anti-BMP2 as inhibitors of osteogenesis in AS subjects' cells, and whether these findings can be used in the clinical management of AS.

Mapeamento dos casos de violência contra a mulher na região metropolitana de Belém narrados pela mídia impressa do estado do Pará. / Mapping cases of violence against in the metropolitan area of Belém narrated by printed media in state of Pará.

Objetivo: mapear casos de violência contra a mulher na região metropolitana de Belém narrados por jornal paraense.Método: estudo descritivo, quantitativo, com coleta de dados realizada na Biblioteca da Fundação Cultural do ParáTancredo Neves (CENTUR) nos exemplares do jornal O Liberal. Foram consultados 2.178 exemplares, destes 571notas mencionavam a violência contra a mulher na região metropolitana de Belém, no período de 2005 a 2010. Aanálise dos dados foi por meio da estatística descritiva apresentada em gráficos e tabelas. Resultados: a análise dasnotas revelou mulheres vítimas de violência na faixa etária referente às três primeiras décadas de vida, violentadasem suas residências por pessoas conhecidas; sofrendo violências física e sexual, sendo a genitália o local do corpomais afetado e tendo como principal desfecho a denúncia. As cidades consideradas mais violentas respectivamenteforam: Santa Bárbara (122,5 casos/100mil habitantes), seguida de Marituba, Ananindeua, Belém, Benevides eSanta Isabel. Os bairros com maior número de casos foram: o Guamá (6,30%), seguido por Icuí Guajará (5,60%),Coqueiro (4,02%), Marambaia (3,85%) e Paar (3,85%). Os bairros considerados mais violentos são conhecidospela ocupação desordenada e alto contingente populacional, considerados bairros de níveis social e econômicoreduzidos. Conclusão: é fundamental compreender que é necessário desconcentrar os focos de estabelecimentosde enfrentamento à violência contra a mulher da capital Belém para toda a região metropolitana, especialmente asperiferias que apresentam maior índice de violência contra a mulher por habitantes. Compreende-se que dessa formasupera-se o deslocamento como justificativa para as dificuldades de ajuda e tratamento.

Objective: map cases of violence against women, in Belém?s metropolitan area, documented in the newspapers inState of Pará. Methods: this paper was made in a descriptive way, in a quantitative nature. The data was collectedat the Fundação Cultural Tancredo Neves (CENTUR) and from copies of newspaper O Liberal. 2,190 copies wereconsulted, from which 571 newspaper notes mentioned violence against women in Belém?s metropolitan areabetween years from 2005 to 2010. The data analysis was made by descriptive statistics and represented by chartsand tables. Results: the newspaper notes analysis revealed women violence victims aged referring to the first threedecades of life, violated at their own houses mostly by people already known, violated physically and sexually,as site of the body mostly affected being the genitals, and as the main outcome, the complaint. The most violentcities, respectively, are: Santa Bárbara (122.5 cases/100,000 inhabitants), followed by Marituba, Ananindeua, Belém,Benevides and Santa Isabel. The neighborhoods with highest case numbers are: Guamá (6.30%), followed by IcuíGuajará (5.60%), Coqueiro (4.02%), Marambaia (3.85%) and Paar (3.85%). The most violent neighborhoods areknown by their disorientated occupation and high density, being considered neighborhoods with low social andeconomic levels. Conclusion: there is a need of decentralizing the focus of establishments against women violenceof Belém to the rest of the metropolitan area, specially to suburbs that present higher rates of violence againstwomen per inhabitants. It is understood that this decentralization can overcome the misplacement as a reason for thedifficulties of help and treatment.

Increased In Vitro Osteopotential in SHED Associated with Higher IGF2 Expression When Compared with hASCs.

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) osteogenic differentiation potential varies according to factors such as tissue source and cell population heterogeneity. Pre-selection of cell subpopulations harboring higher osteopotential is a promising strategy to achieve a thorough translation of MSC-based therapies to the clinic. Here, we searched for novel molecular markers predictive of osteopotential by comparing MSC populations from two sources harboring different osteogenic potentials. We show that MSCs from human deciduous teeth (SHED) have an intrinsically higher osteogenic potential when compared with MSCs from human adipose tissue (hASCs) under the same in vitro controlled induction system. Transcriptome profiling revealed IGF2 to be one of the top upregulated transcripts before and during early in vitro osteogenic differentiation. Further, exogenous IGF2 supplementation enhanced alkaline phosphatase activity and matrix mineralization, and inhibition of IGF2 lessened these parameters in SHED and hASCs, validating IGF2 as an osteogenic factor in these MSCs. Further, we found IGF2 to be biallelically expressed in SHED, but not in hASCs. We observed a 4 % methylation increase in the imprinting control region within the IGF2-H19 locus in SHED, and this is mainly due to 2 specific CpG sites. Thus, we suggest that IGF2 upregulation in SHED is due to loss of imprinting. This study unravels osteogenic properties in SHED, implying IGF2 as a potential biomarker of MSCs with higher osteopotential, and unveils IGF2 loss-of-imprinting in SHED.

Improvement of In Vitro Osteogenic Potential through Differentiation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Human Exfoliated Dental Tissue towards Mesenchymal-Like Stem Cells.

Constraints for the application of MSCs for bone reconstruction include restricted self-renewal and limited cell amounts. iPSC technology presents advantages over MSCs, providing homogeneous cellular populations with prolonged self-renewal and higher plasticity. However, it is unknown if the osteogenic potential of iPSCs differs from that of MSCs and if it depends on the iPSCs originating cellular source. Here, we compared the in vitro osteogenesis between stem cells from human deciduous teeth (SHED) and MSC-like cells from iPSCs from SHED (iPS-SHED) and from human dermal fibroblasts (iPS-FIB). MSC-like cells from iPS-SHED and iPS-FIB displayed fibroblast-like morphology, downregulation of pluripotency markers and upregulation of mesenchymal markers. Comparative in vitro osteogenesis analysis showed higher osteogenic potential in MSC-like cells from iPS-SHED followed by MSC-like cells from iPS-FIB and SHED. CD105 expression, reported to be inversely correlated with osteogenic potential in MSCs, did not display this pattern, considering that SHED presented lower CD105 expression. Higher osteogenic potential of MSC-like cells from iPS-SHED may be due to cellular homogeneity and/or to donor tissue epigenetic memory. Our findings strengthen the rationale for the use of iPSCs in bone bioengineering. Unveiling the molecular basis behind these differences is important for a thorough use of iPSCs in clinical scenarios.

Optimization of parameters for a more efficient use of adipose-derived stem cells in regenerative medicine therapies.

Adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ASCs) association to fat in autologous lipotransfer is promising for a more effective soft tissue reconstruction, and optimization of protocols to isolate ASCs from lipoaspirate fat is much needed. We demonstrated that an increase in adipocyte differentiation is dependent on the number of ASCs. In a sample of 10 donors, we found a higher concentration of nucleated cells in the lower abdomen compared to flank (P = 0.015). In a sample of 6 donors we did not find differences in the cell yield obtained by manual or pump-assisted aspiration (P = 0.56). We suggest that the increase in the number of ASCs in the reinjected fat may enhance the efficiency of newly formed adipose tissue and that the anatomical region from which to harvest fat tissue needs to be considered to optimize the number of ASCs in the harvested tissue. Finally, pump-assisted aspiration can be used without any significant harm to the viability of cells.

Evolução do carcinoma colorretal, comparando doentes com idades acima e abaixo de 40 anos, quanto à diferenciação tumoral e ao estádio do tumor / Colorectal cancer evolution, comparing patients yourger and older than 40 years old, according to tumoral differentiation and tumor stage

OBJETIVO: A incidência elevada do carcinoma colorretal o torna problema de saúde pública no nosso país. Os poucos trabalhos na literatura, bem como as dúvidas relacionando a idade com a evolução da doença, estimularam-nos a realizar esse trabalho para conhecer as divergências quanto à diferenciação tumoral e o estádio na evolução dessa neoplasia, comparando doentes com idades acima e abaixo de 40 anos. MÉTODO: Comparar 205 doentes de adenocarcinoma colorretal com idades acima e abaixo de 40 anos quanto ao tempo de sintomas, história familiar, localização do tumor, estádio do tumor, diferenciação, morte operatória, local de metástases e mortalidade até 3 anos. RESULTADOS: Eram 20 no grupo mais jovem e 185 entre os mais idosos. Não houve diferença em relação ao sexo, ao tempo de início de sintomas, à história familiar, ao local de tumor no cólon, ao estádio, ao aparecimento de recidivas, à mortalidade operatória e à sobrevivência até o terceiro ano pós-operatório. No grupo mais jovem os tumores foram mais indiferenciados e as metástases abdominais predominaram. No grupo mais velho houve maior incidência de metástases hepáticas e pulmonares. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados obtidos nas condições de execução do presente estudo, em que comparamos doentes portadores de adenocarcinoma colorretal com idades acima e abaixo de 40 anos, permitiram concluir que os tumores foram mais indiferenciados entre os mais jovens embora a evolução pós-tratamento tenha sido semelhante.

OBJECTIVE: High incidence of colorectal carcinoma turns it into a public health problem in our country. A few articles, as well as some doubts about patients age and disease evolution, made us study these features to know about tumor cells differentiation and tumor staging in the post-operative follow-up, comparing patients younger and older than 40 years old. METHOD: Comparison of 205 colorectal carcinoma patients younger and older than 40 years according to symptoms duration, familial history, tumor site, tumor stage, tumor cells differentiation, operative death, metastases site and mortality up to the third year. RESULTS: There were 20 in the younger group and 185 in the older group. There was no difference according to gender, symptoms duration, familial history, tumor site, tumor stage, cancer recurrence, operative mortality and surviving up to the third post-operative year. Tumors were less differentiated and abdominal metastases were more frequent in the younger group. In the older group, hepatic and pulmonary metastases were more common. CONCLUSION: Results obtained in execution conditions of this study, comparing colorectal cancer patients with ages under and over 40 years old, allowed us to conclude that tumors were less differentiated among the younger group despite post-operative evolution having been similar.