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| 2. |
- Naghavi, Mohsen, et al.
(författare)
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Global, regional, and national age-sex specific all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 240 causes of death, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013
- 2015
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Ingår i: The Lancet. - 1474-547X .- 0140-6736. ; 385:9963, s. 117-171
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Up-to-date evidence on levels and trends for age-sex-specifi c all-cause and cause-specifi c mortality is essential for the formation of global, regional, and national health policies. In the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013) we estimated yearly deaths for 188 countries between 1990, and 2013. We used the results to assess whether there is epidemiological convergence across countries. Methods We estimated age-sex-specifi c all-cause mortality using the GBD 2010 methods with some refinements to improve accuracy applied to an updated database of vital registration, survey, and census data. We generally estimated cause of death as in the GBD 2010. Key improvements included the addition of more recent vital registration data for 72 countries, an updated verbal autopsy literature review, two new and detailed data systems for China, and more detail for Mexico, UK, Turkey, and Russia. We improved statistical models for garbage code redistribution. We used six different modelling strategies across the 240 causes; cause of death ensemble modelling (CODEm) was the dominant strategy for causes with sufficient information. Trends for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias were informed by meta-regression of prevalence studies. For pathogen-specifi c causes of diarrhoea and lower respiratory infections we used a counterfactual approach. We computed two measures of convergence (inequality) across countries: the average relative difference across all pairs of countries (Gini coefficient) and the average absolute difference across countries. To summarise broad findings, we used multiple decrement life-tables to decompose probabilities of death from birth to exact age 15 years, from exact age 15 years to exact age 50 years, and from exact age 50 years to exact age 75 years, and life expectancy at birth into major causes. For all quantities reported, we computed 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). We constrained cause-specific fractions within each age-sex-country-year group to sum to all-cause mortality based on draws from the uncertainty distributions. Findings Global life expectancy for both sexes increased from 65.3 years (UI 65.0-65.6) in 1990, to 71.5 years (UI 71.0-71.9) in 2013, while the number of deaths increased from 47.5 million (UI 46.8-48.2) to 54.9 million (UI 53.6-56.3) over the same interval. Global progress masked variation by age and sex: for children, average absolute diff erences between countries decreased but relative diff erences increased. For women aged 25-39 years and older than 75 years and for men aged 20-49 years and 65 years and older, both absolute and relative diff erences increased. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the prominent role of reductions in age-standardised death rates for cardiovascular diseases and cancers in high-income regions, and reductions in child deaths from diarrhoea, lower respiratory infections, and neonatal causes in low-income regions. HIV/AIDS reduced life expectancy in southern sub-Saharan Africa. For most communicable causes of death both numbers of deaths and age-standardised death rates fell whereas for most non-communicable causes, demographic shifts have increased numbers of deaths but decreased age-standardised death rates. Global deaths from injury increased by 10.7%, from 4.3 million deaths in 1990 to 4.8 million in 2013; but age-standardised rates declined over the same period by 21%. For some causes of more than 100 000 deaths per year in 2013, age-standardised death rates increased between 1990 and 2013, including HIV/AIDS, pancreatic cancer, atrial fibrillation and flutter, drug use disorders, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and sickle-cell anaemias. Diarrhoeal diseases, lower respiratory infections, neonatal causes, and malaria are still in the top five causes of death in children younger than 5 years. The most important pathogens are rotavirus for diarrhoea and pneumococcus for lower respiratory infections. Country-specific probabilities of death over three phases of life were substantially varied between and within regions. Interpretation For most countries, the general pattern of reductions in age-sex specifi c mortality has been associated with a progressive shift towards a larger share of the remaining deaths caused by non-communicable disease and injuries. Assessing epidemiological convergence across countries depends on whether an absolute or relative measure of inequality is used. Nevertheless, age-standardised death rates for seven substantial causes are increasing, suggesting the potential for reversals in some countries. Important gaps exist in the empirical data for cause of death estimates for some countries; for example, no national data for India are available for the past decade.
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| 3. |
- Hollestelle, Antoinette, et al.
(författare)
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No clinical utility of KRAS variant rs61764370 for ovarian or breast cancer
- 2016
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Ingår i: Gynecologic Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0090-8258 .- 1095-6859. ; 141:2, s. 386-401
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective Clinical genetic testing is commercially available for rs61764370, an inherited variant residing in a KRAS 3′ UTR microRNA binding site, based on suggested associations with increased ovarian and breast cancer risk as well as with survival time. However, prior studies, emphasizing particular subgroups, were relatively small. Therefore, we comprehensively evaluated ovarian and breast cancer risks as well as clinical outcome associated with rs61764370. Methods Centralized genotyping and analysis were performed for 140,012 women enrolled in the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (15,357 ovarian cancer patients; 30,816 controls), the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (33,530 breast cancer patients; 37,640 controls), and the Consortium of Modifiers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 (14,765 BRCA1 and 7904 BRCA2 mutation carriers). Results We found no association with risk of ovarian cancer (OR = 0.99, 95% CI 0.94-1.04, p = 0.74) or breast cancer (OR = 0.98, 95% CI 0.94-1.01, p = 0.19) and results were consistent among mutation carriers (BRCA1, ovarian cancer HR = 1.09, 95% CI 0.97-1.23, p = 0.14, breast cancer HR = 1.04, 95% CI 0.97-1.12, p = 0.27; BRCA2, ovarian cancer HR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.71-1.13, p = 0.34, breast cancer HR = 1.06, 95% CI 0.94-1.19, p = 0.35). Null results were also obtained for associations with overall survival following ovarian cancer (HR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.83-1.07, p = 0.38), breast cancer (HR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.87-1.06, p = 0.38), and all other previously-reported associations. Conclusions rs61764370 is not associated with risk of ovarian or breast cancer nor with clinical outcome for patients with these cancers. Therefore, genotyping this variant has no clinical utility related to the prediction or management of these cancers.
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| 4. |
- Wang, Anqi, et al.
(författare)
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Characterizing prostate cancer risk through multi-ancestry genome-wide discovery of 187 novel risk variants
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Nature. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 55:12, s. 2065-2074
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The transferability and clinical value of genetic risk scores (GRSs) across populations remain limited due to an imbalance in genetic studies across ancestrally diverse populations. Here we conducted a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of 156,319 prostate cancer cases and 788,443 controls of European, African, Asian and Hispanic men, reflecting a 57% increase in the number of non-European cases over previous prostate cancer genome-wide association studies. We identified 187 novel risk variants for prostate cancer, increasing the total number of risk variants to 451. An externally replicated multi-ancestry GRS was associated with risk that ranged from 1.8 (per standard deviation) in African ancestry men to 2.2 in European ancestry men. The GRS was associated with a greater risk of aggressive versus non-aggressive disease in men of African ancestry (P = 0.03). Our study presents novel prostate cancer susceptibility loci and a GRS with effective risk stratification across ancestry groups.
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| 5. |
- Salome, Pedro M. P., et al.
(författare)
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A comparison between thin film solar cells made from co-evaporated CuIn1-xGaxSe2 using a one-stage process versus a three-stage process
- 2015
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Ingår i: Progress in Photovoltaics. - : Wiley. - 1062-7995 .- 1099-159X. ; 23:4, s. 470-478
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Until this day, the most efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 thin film solar cells have been prepared using a rather complex growth process often referred to as three-stage or multistage. This family of processes is mainly characterized by a first step deposited with only In, Ga and Se flux to form a first layer. Cu is added in a second step until the film becomes slightly Cu-rich, where-after the film is converted to its final Cu-poor composition by a third stage, again with no or very little addition of Cu. In this paper, a comparison between solar cells prepared with the three-stage process and a one-stage/in-line process with the same composition, thickness, and solar cell stack is made. The one-stage process is easier to be used in an industrial scale and do not have Cu-rich transitions. The samples were analyzed using glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, current-voltage-temperature, capacitance-voltage, external quantum efficiency, transmission/reflection, and photoluminescence. It was concluded that in spite of differences in the texturing, morphology and Ga gradient, the electrical performance of the two types of samples is quite similar as demonstrated by the similar J-V behavior, quantum spectral response, and the estimated recombination losses.
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| 6. |
- Teixeira, Jennifer P., et al.
(författare)
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Recombination Channels in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Thin Films : Impact of the Ga-Profile
- 2020
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Ingår i: The Journal of Physical Chemistry C. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1932-7447 .- 1932-7455. ; 124:23, s. 12295-12304
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Depth bandgap profiles via a [Ga]/([Ga]+[In]) variation in the Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGS) absorber layer have been implemented as a strategy to enhance the performance of CIGS solar cells. Since the [Ga]/([Ga]+[In]) determines to a large extent the position of the conduction band minimum, different Ga-profiles lead to different electronic energy levels structures throughout the CIGS layer. In this paper, from the investigation of the dependence of the photoluminescence (PL) on excitation power and temperature, we critically analyze the impact of a notch or a linear Ga-profile on the CIGS electronic energy levels structure and subsequent dominant recombination channels. Notwithstanding, two radiative transitions involving fluctuating potentials were observed for each sample, and significant differences in the luminescence resulting from the two Ga-profiles were identified. For the CIGS absorber with a notch Ga-profile, two tail-impurity radiative transitions involving equivalent donor clusters and the same deep acceptor level were ascribed to the CIGS/CdS interface region and to the notch region. The probability of radiative recombination in these two regions is discussed. For the CIGS absorber with a linear Ga-profile, two band-impurity radiative transitions involving an acceptor, with an ionization energy compatible with the V-Cu defect were ascribed to the CIGS/CdS interface region. Our results show that the dominant acceptor defects are dependent on the Ga-profile, and they also highlight the complexity of the radiative and nonradiative recombination channels revealed by the tight control of the parameters in the experiment.
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| 7. |
- Salome, Pedro M. P., et al.
(författare)
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Influence of CdS and ZnSnO Buffer Layers on the Photoluminescence of Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 Thin Films
- 2017
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Ingår i: IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics. - : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). - 2156-3381 .- 2156-3403. ; 7:2, s. 670-675
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The search for alternatives to the CdS buffer layer in Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGS) solar cells has turned out to be quite promising in terms of power conversion efficiency. In this paper, the typically used chemical-bath-deposited CdS layer is compared with an atomic-layer-deposited Zn1-xSnxOy (ZnSnO). An optical study by external quantum efficiency and photoluminescence on the influence of different buffer layers on the defect properties of CIGS is presented. For both buffer layers, the CIGS bulk and CIGS/buffer interface are strongly influenced by electrostatic fluctuating potentials, which are less pronounced for the sample with the ZnSnO buffer layer. This is associated with a lower concentration of donor defects at the CIGS near-interface layer. A change in the bandgap of the CIGS as a consequence of the buffer layer deposition is observed. This study expands the knowledge of defects in the complex quaternary semiconductor CIGS, which, as discussed, can be affected even by the choice of buffer layer and its deposition process.
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| 8. |
- Salome, Pedro M. P., et al.
(författare)
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Passivation of Interfaces in Thin Film Solar Cells : Understanding the Effects of a Nanostructured Rear Point Contact Layer
- 2018
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Ingår i: Advanced Materials Interfaces. - : Wiley. - 2196-7350. ; 5:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Thin film solar cells based in Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGS) are among the most efficient polycrystalline solar cells, surpassing CdTe and even polycrystalline silicon solar cells. For further developments, the CIGS technology has to start incorporating different solar cell architectures and strategies that allow for very low interface recombination. In this work, ultrathin 350 nm CIGS solar cells with a rear interface passivation strategy are studied and characterized. The rear passivation is achieved using an Al2O3 nanopatterned point structure. Using the cell results, photoluminescence measurements, and detailed optical simulations based on the experimental results, it is shown that by including the nanopatterned point contact structure, the interface defect concentration lowers, which ultimately leads to an increase of solar cell electrical performance mostly by increase of the open circuit voltage. Gains to the short circuit current are distributed between an increased rear optical reflection and also due to electrical effects. The approach of mixing several techniques allows us to make a discussion considering the different passivation gains, which has not been done in detail in previous works. A solar cell with a nanopatterned rear contact and a 350 nm thick CIGS absorber provides an average power conversion efficiency close to 10%.
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| 9. |
- Salomé, Pedro M. P., et al.
(författare)
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Secondary crystalline phases identification in CuZnSnSe thin films : contributions from Raman scattering and photoluminescence
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Materials Science. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0022-2461 .- 1573-4803. ; 49:21, s. 7425-7436
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this work, we present the Raman peak positions of the quaternary pure selenide compound CuZnSnSe (CZTSe) and related secondary phases that were grown and studied under the same conditions. A vast discussion about the position of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) reflections of these compounds is presented. It is known that by using XRD only, CZTSe can be identified but nothing can be said about the presence of some secondary phases. Thin films of CZTSe, CuSnSe, ZnSe, SnSe, SnSe, MoSe and a-Se were grown, which allowed their investigation by Raman spectroscopy (RS). Here we present all the Raman spectra of these phases and discuss the similarities with the spectra of CZTSe. The effective analysis depth for the common back-scattering geometry commonly used in RS measurements, as well as the laser penetration depth for photoluminescence (PL) were estimated for different wavelength values. The observed asymmetric PL band on a CZTSe film is compatible with the presence of CZTSe single-phase and is discussed in the scope of the fluctuating potentials' model. The estimated bandgap energy is close to the values obtained from absorption measurements. In general, the phase identification of CZTSe benefits from the contributions of RS and PL along with the XRD discussion.
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| 10. |
- Alberto, Helena, V, et al.
(författare)
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Characterization of the Interfacial Defect Layer in Chalcopyrite Solar Cells by Depth-Resolved Muon Spin Spectroscopy
- 2022
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Ingår i: Advanced Materials Interfaces. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2196-7350. ; 9:19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As devices become smaller and more complex, the interfaces between adjacent materials become increasingly important and are often critical to device performance. An important research goal is to improve the interface between the absorber and the window layer by inserting buffer layers to adjust the transition. Depth-resolved studies are key for a fundamental understanding of the interface. In the present experiment, the interface between the chalcopyrite Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 absorber and various buffer layers are investigated using low-energy muon spin rotation (mu SR) spectroscopy. Depth resolution in the nm range is achieved by implanting the muons with different energies so that they stop at different depths in the sample. Near the interface, a region about 50 nm wide is detected where the lattice is more distorted than further inside the absorber. The distortion is attributed to the long-range strain field caused by defects. These measurements allow a quantification of the corresponding passivation effect of the buffer layer. Bath-deposited cadmium sulfide provides the best defect passivation in the near interface region, in contrast to the dry-deposited oxides, which have a much smaller effect. The experiment demonstrates the great potential of low energy mu SR spectroscopy for microscopic interfacial studies of multilayer systems.
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