Interface passivation for 31.25%-efficient perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells.

Silicon solar cells are approaching their theoretical efficiency limit of 29%. This limitation can be exceeded with advanced device architectures, where two or more solar cells are stacked to improve the harvesting of solar energy. In this work, we devise a tandem device with a perovskite layer conformally coated on a silicon bottom cell featuring micrometric pyramids-the industry standard-to improve its photocurrent.

Natural alleles of the clock gene differentially affect life-history traits in .

Circadian clocks orchestrate a variety of physiological and behavioural functions within the 24-h day. These timekeeping systems have also been implicated in developmental and reproductive processes that span more (or less) than 24 h. Whether natural alleles of cardinal clock genes affect entire sets of life-history traits (i.

Nasal/orotracheal tube switch to reduce length of mechanical ventilation in neurocritical patients: A propensity score matched analysis.

Introduction And Objectives: Nasotracheal intubation was advocated to increase patients comfort and tube tolerance, but no study showed a clear benefit of nasotracheal intubation over orotracheal intubation. Neurocritically ill patients are a fragile group with specific requirements regarding ventilation and sedation. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether nasotracheal intubation might reduce length of mechanical ventilation in neurocritically ill patients.

Biological rhythms: Hormones under moon control.

Grass puffers are fish that engage in mass spawning controlled by the phase of the moon. A new study shows that prostaglandins released by males and females fine tune these events. In addition, regulation of gnrh1 by a transcription factor expressed in a semilunar rhythm suggests a timing signal for the long-term coordination of gonadal maturation.

Early Physiologic Effects of Prone Positioning in COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Background: The mechanisms underlying oxygenation improvement after prone positioning in COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome have not been fully elucidated yet. The authors hypothesized that the oxygenation increase with prone positioning is secondary to the improvement of ventilation-perfusion matching.

Methods: In a series of consecutive intubated COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome patients receiving volume-controlled ventilation, the authors prospectively assessed the percent variation of ventilation-perfusion matching by electrical impedance tomography before and 90 min after the first cycle of prone positioning (primary endpoint).

Impact on grafted kidney function of rocuronium-sugammadex vs cisatracurium-neostigmine strategy for neuromuscular block management. An Italian single-center, 2014-2017 retrospective cohort case-control study.

Background: The impact of sugammadex in patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing kidney transplantation is still far from being defined. The aim of the study is to compare sugammadex to neostigmine for reversal of rocuronium- and cisatracurium-induced neuromuscular block (NMB), respectively, in patients undergoing kidney transplantation.

Methods: A single-center, 2014-2017 retrospective cohort case-control study was performed.

Algorithms for Smooth, Safe and Quick Routing on Sensor-Equipped Grid Networks.

Automation plays an important role in modern transportation and handling systems, e.g., to control the routes of aircraft and ground service equipment in airport aprons, automated guided vehicles in port terminals or in public transportation, handling robots in automated factories, drones in warehouse picking operations, etc.

How neurons adjust to diurnality.

Being active during the day requires a slow-closing ion channel that dampens the activity of neurons in a specific area of the brain.

A practical guide to patient position and complication management in neurosurgery: a systematic qualitative review.

Purpose: Adequate patient positioning is of paramount importance in neurosurgery. Complications related to the position are common and make up for more than 16% of the claims towards anaesthesiologists and neurosurgeons. This paper aims to provide the anaesthesiologist with a practical guide to avoid common pitfalls related to the patient positioning process.

The Nereid on the rise: Platynereis as a model system.

The Nereid Platynereis dumerilii (Audouin and Milne Edwards (Annales des Sciences Naturelles 1:195-269, 1833) is a marine annelid that belongs to the Nereididae, a family of errant polychaete worms. The Nereid shows a pelago-benthic life cycle: as a general characteristic for the superphylum of Lophotrochozoa/Spiralia, it has spirally cleaving embryos developing into swimming trochophore larvae. The larvae then metamorphose into benthic worms living in self-spun tubes on macroalgae.

Electrical impedance tomography: A compass for the safe route to optimal PEEP.

Setting the proper level of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is a cornerstone of lung protective ventilation. PEEP keeps the alveoli open at the end of expiration, thus reducing atelectrauma and shunt. However, excessive PEEP may contribute to alveolar overdistension.

Two Consecutive Runs of Veno-Venous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in a Peripartum Patient with COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO) may be required to treat critically ill patients with COVID-19-associated severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We report the case of a 43-year-old peripartum patient, who underwent two sequential V-V ECMO runs. The first extracorporeal support was established for COVID-19 ARDS, as characterized by severe hypoxemia and hypercapnia (arterial partial pressure of oxygen to inspired oxygen fraction ratio 85 mmHg and arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide 95 mmHg) and reduction of respiratory system static compliance to 25 mL/cmHO, unresponsive to mechanical ventilation and prone positioning.

Breast Regional Anesthesia Practice in the Italian Public Health System (BRA-SURVEY): A Survey-Based National Study.

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Surgery is a mainstay therapy unfortunately burdened by complications as severe postoperative pain. Regional anesthesia may play a role in a multimodal strategy for prevention and treatment of postoperative pain.

Patients in intensive care unit for COVID-19 pneumonia: the lung ultrasound patterns at admission and discharge. An observational pilot study.

Background: During COVID-19 pandemic, optimization of the diagnostic resources is essential. Lung Ultrasound (LUS) is a rapid, easy-to-perform, low cost tool which allows bedside investigation of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. We aimed to investigate the typical ultrasound patterns of COVID-19 pneumonia and their evolution at different stages of the disease.

Are thromboelastometric and thromboelastographic parameters associated with mortality in septic patients? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Thromboelastometry/elastography (ROTEM/TEG) showed promising results for diagnosis of sepsis-induced coagulopathy, but their association with the outcome is unclear. Our aim was to assess any difference in ROTEM/TEG measurements between septic survivors and non-survivors.

Methods: Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library databases were investigated.

Anterior Spinal Artery Steal Syndrome Complicated by Ruptured Flow-Related Aneurysm of the Anterior Radiculomedullary Artery.

Background: Anterior spinal artery steal syndrome, radiculomedullary artery aneurysms, and pulmonary arteriovenous malformations with a systemic origin are each, considered individually, exceptional conditions.

Case Description: We describe the coexistence of all these conditions and their pathophysiologic relationship by presenting the case of a woman who referred to the emergency department for loss of consciousness and a history of 2 days of medullary symptoms and a subsequent acute respiratory failure. Detailed imaging revealed a subarachnoid hemorrhage due to the rupture of a spinal aneurysm located in a C8 radiculomedullary artery that had its flow reversed toward the deep cervical artery from which a systemic to pulmonary arteriovenous malformation originated.

Predictors of deep-vein thrombosis in subarachnoid hemorrhage: a retrospective analysis.

Background: Subarachnoid hemorrhage is a severe subtype of hemorrhagic stroke, and deep-vein thrombosis is a frequent complication detected in these patients. In addition to other well-established risk factors, the early activation of coagulation systems present in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage could potentially play a role in the incidence of deep-vein thrombosis. This study aims to identify possible predictors for deep-vein thrombosis related to subarachnoid hemorrhage.

[Pulse pressure variation guided fluid therapy during kidney transplantation: a randomized controlled trial].

Purpose: Kidney transplantation is the gold-standard treatment for end stage renal disease. Although different hemodynamic variables, like central venous pressure and mean arterial pressure, have been used to guide volume replacement during surgery, the best strategy still ought to be determined. Respiratory arterial Pulse Pressure Variation (PPV) is recognized to be a good predictor of fluid responsiveness for perioperative hemodynamic optimization in operating room settings.