Monolithic 24 cm2 flexible triple-junction solar cell encapsulated module based on the ipsilateral electrode welding technology.

The inverted metamorphic multi-junction solar cell is anticipated to be widely applied in stratospheric flight because of its exceptional properties of flexibility and light weight. We propose an ipsilateral welding technology based on Ti/Au electrodes to simplify the fabrication process of GaInP/GaAs/InGaAs solar cells and encapsulate large-sized flexible solar cells. After annealing at 200°C for 2 h, the Ti/Au electrode achieved a low specific contact resistivity of 2.9×10-7 Ω⋅c m 2. The performance of the ohmic contact remains stable after the thermal cycling tests. The Ti/Au electrode can require less heat input for welding to reduce the risk of microcrack formation of the solar cells. By employment of this electrode, a 24c m 2 solar cell achieved a conversion efficiency of 34.74%. A flexible solar cell module with an efficiency of 32.82% under AM 1.5G illumination was obtained by the ipsilateral electrode welding technology.

Monolithic 24 cm2 flexible triple-junction solar cell encapsulated module based on the ipsilateral electrode welding technology: erratum.

This erratum corrects an error in Fig. 1 of the original paper, Appl. Opt.63, 2815 (2024)APOPAI0003-693510.1364/AO.518102.

Accelerated aging of unencapsulated flexible GaInP/GaAs/InGaAs solar cells by means of damp heat and thermal cycling tests.

The extended damp heat and thermal cycling tests were performed on unencapsulated flexible thin-film GaInP/GaAs/InGaAs solar cells to assess the long-term stability. The solar cells were subjected to 85 °C/85% damp heat test for more than 1000 h and 420 cycles of thermal cycling test between -60 °C and 75 °C, respectively. The performance attenuations of flexible solar cells were less than 2% in both cases, which were due to the slow decline of the open-circuit voltage with aging time. The slight decrease in open voltage was attributed to the increase in reverse saturation current due to the enhanced recombination, which was in good agreement with the calculation based on the two-diode model. The good performance of the unencapsulated flexible GaInP/GaAs/InGaAs solar cells in severe environment indicated the stable and reliable device fabrication art in the experiment.

SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding characteristics and potential evidence for the priority for faecal specimen testing in diagnosis.

This study aimed to identify the specimen type that has high positivity and its proper sampling time for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing to promote diagnostic efficiency. All SARS-CoV-2-infected patients with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis in Zhoushan City were followed up for viral shedding in respiratory tract specimens and faecal samples. Positivity was analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively by proper statistical approaches with strong testing power. Viral shedding in respiratory tract and faecal specimens was prolonged to 45 and 40 days after the last exposure, respectively. The overall positive rate in respiratory tract specimens was low and relatively unstable, being higher in the early-to-mid stage than in the mid-to-late stage of the disease course. Compared with respiratory tract specimens, faecal samples had a higher viral load, higher overall positive rate, and more stable positivity in different disease courses and varied symptomatic status. Faecal specimens have the potential ability to surpass respiratory tract specimens in virus detection. Testing of faecal specimens in diagnosis, especially for identifying asymptomatic carriers, is recommended. Simultaneously, testing respiratory tract specimens at the early-to-mid stage is better than testing at the mid-to-late stage of the disease course. A relatively small sample size was noted, and statistical approaches were used to address it. Information was missing for both specimen types at different stages of the disease course due to censored data. Our research extends the observed viral shedding in both specimen types and highlights the importance of faecal specimen testing in SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis. Healthcare workers, patients, and the general public may all benefit from our study findings. Disposal of sewage from hospitals and residential areas should be performed cautiously because the virus sheds in faeces and can last for a long time.

Intestinal tract and parenteral multi-organ sequential pathological injury caused by necrotizing enterocolitis.

BACKGROUND: To explore the relationship between the pathological changes of the colon, terminal ileum, lung, liver and kidney, and the changes of Bax, PCNA and PAF in a rat model of NEC. METHODS: One hundred and forty neonatal SD rats were randomly divided into NEC group and control group (70 in each group). NEC group was given hypoxia, cold stimulation and artificial feeding twice a day for 3 consecutive days. The control group was only fed normally. After modeling, From the 1st day to the 7th day, 10 rats were sampled in each group for pathological examination of colon, terminal ileum, lung, liver and kidney tissue. The levels of Bax, PCNA and PAF were investigated by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Compared with the normal group, in the NEC group, on the 1st day, the colon, terminal ileum, lung, liver and kidney showed inflammatory damage. On the 5th day, the inflammatory injury was reduced. The inflammation disappeared on the 7th day. There were differences in the time of apoptosis in the intestine. In the intestine, the proliferation of PCNA was weak at first and then strong. Bax in liver and kidney showed marked apoptosis and apoptosis time increased in the lung. The expression of PCNA increased in lung, liver and kidney, and the expression of PAF increased in lung and liver. CONCLUSIONS: NEC can lead to secondary injury of different degrees in colon, terminal ileum, lung, liver and kidney, and the degree and time of injury and repair were different. In general, organ repair played a leading role on the 4th day after modeling.

Detection of Novel Coronavirus by RT-PCR in Stool Specimen from Asymptomatic Child, China.

We report an asymptomatic child who was positive for a coronavirus by reverse transcription PCR in a stool specimen 17 days after the last virus exposure. The child was virus positive in stool specimens for at least an additional 9 days. Respiratory tract specimens were negative by reverse transcription PCR.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry based serum metabolic analysis for premature infants and the relationship with necrotizing enterocolitis: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Preterm birth and feeding are the most important pathogenic factors of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Metabonomic has been widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of other diseases, but there is no research on the related diseases of premature infants. Compared with full-term infants, the metabolism of preterm infants has its own specificity, so it can easily lead to NEC and other digestive tract inflammatory diseases. Metabonomic may be applied to the diagnosis of preterm related diseases, such as NEC. METHODS: The model was established with premature infant serum samples from 19 premature infants in our hospital, which was compared with the full-term infant control group. Serum was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), coupled with the analysis of serum metabolic characteristics. The variable important in projection, P value and Pearson correlation coefficient of samples were analyzed by using SIMCA, SPSS and other multivariate statistical analysis software. RESULTS: Compared to the term infants, premature infants had significantly higher levels of luteolin, and lower levels of xylose, O-succinyl-L-homoserine and lauric acid in the serum. There were some correlations among several different metabolites and clinically related indices (albumin, total bilirubin) for premature birth related diseases. CONCLUSIONS: There are metabolic alterations in the serum of premature infants, which make contribution to the diagnosis of NEC.

[Serum metabolomics of preterm and full-term infants based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry].

OBJECTIVE: To study the features of serum metabolites in preterm infants based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and to find differentially expressed metabolites in the serum of preterm infants. METHODS: Serum samples were collected from 19 preterm infants and 20 full-term infants before feeding. GC-MS was used to measure metabolic profiles, and the metabolic features of 397 serum metabolites in preterm infants were analyzed. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in serum metabolic features between the preterm and full-term infants before feeding. There were significant differences between the full-term and preterm infants in the levels of metabolites such as O-phosphonothreonine, digicitrin, tannic acid, and fructose-1,6-diphosphate (P<0.01), suggesting that the above differentially expressed metabolites were highly differentiated between the preterm and full-term infants. Most differentially expressed metabolites were involved in the metabolic pathways such as ABC transporters, ß-alanine and pyrimidines and were correlated with some clinical parameters (albumin and total bilirubin) (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant difference in serum metabolites between preterm and full-term infants before feeding. Metabolomics plays an important role in improving metabolic disorders and exploring metabolism-related diseases in preterm infants.

Short-term immunogenicity of standard and accelerated hepatitis B virus vaccination schedules in healthy adults: a comparative field study in China.

World Health Organization recommends hepatitis B virus (HBV) immunization at 0, 1, and 6 months. However, studies have suggested that shortening the interval between the first and last HBV immunization can improve completion rates. Less clear is whether accelerated immunization is as immunogenic as standard immunization. Thus, the present study aimed to compare the short-term immunogenicity of yeast-derived hepatitis B vaccine in healthy adults immunized on an accelerated or standard schedule. Between June 2013 and March 2014, individuals from Jinfeng and Longmen, China were randomly assigned to receive the vaccine on an accelerated schedule (at 0, 1, and 2 months; n=201) or a standard schedule (at 0, 1, and 6 months; n=206). Subjects filled out a questionnaire asking about demographic and other health data, and they underwent physical examination. Blood was assayed for HBV surface antigen and HBV surface antibody (HBsAb) at 1-2 months after the three-dose schedule. Multivariate binary logistic regression was used to determine whether the rate of anti-HBs seroconversion differed with immunization schedule. Covariance analysis was used to compare geometric mean HBsAb concentration between the two schedules. The anti-HBs seroconversion rate was 84.6% in the accelerated group and 90.3% in the standard group. After controlling for several potential confounders, the accelerated schedule was associated with significantly lower anti-HBs seroconversion rate (OR: 0.560, 95% CI: 0.318-0.988). Similarly, the accelerated schedule was associated with significantly lower geometric mean HBsAb concentration. These results suggest that the standard schedule is more likely to lead to anti-HBs seroconversion and higher HBsAb levels in adults.

[Prevalence of HBsAg Positive and HBsAb Negative Populations in Rural Mianyang].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of positive HBsAg and negative HBsAg populations in rural Mianyang, and provide evidence support for proper immunization strategies. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted on 163 797 rural residents in Mianyang selected through a multistage random sampling strategy. Serum samples were taken from the participants to detect HBsAg and HBsAb with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Overall, 6.57% 〔95% confidence interval (CI): 6.45%-6.69%〕 of participants were HBsAg positive. In those with negative HBsAg, 40.32% (95%CI: 40.36%-40.84%) had negative HBsAb. Higher prevalence of positive HBsAg was found in the male participants (7.74%) compared with the females (5.73%). But the male participants with negative HBsAg were less likely to have negative HBsAb (39.93%) than their female counterparts (40.61%). Those aged between 56 and 65 years had the highest prevalence of positive HBsAg (7.36%); whereas, those aged between 86 and 96 years had the highest prevalence of negative HBsAg/HBsAb (47.61%). The participants who were married (6.63%), resided in Fucheng District (9.23%), had a family history of Hepatitis B (21.01%) and were not vaccinated (7.30%) had higher prevalence of positive HBsAg than others. Those who were divorced and widowed (43.04%), resided in An County (55.24%), had no family history of Hepatitis B (40.60%), and were vaccinated (40.92%) had higher prevalence of negative HBsAg/HBsAb than others. These differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A high proportion of rural residents in Mianyang are HBsAg positive or HBsAg/HBsAb negative. The older population and those without vaccination should be the main target in the prevention and control of hepatitis B.