| 1. |
- Lavall, Rodrigo L., et al.
(författare)
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An unprecedented hybrid polyoxometalate based on niobium oligomers: A notable application as redox supercapacitor electrode
- 2023
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Ingår i: Chemical Engineering Journal. - : ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA. - 1385-8947 .- 1873-3212. ; 455
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An unprecedented polyoxoniobate (PONb) oligomer was obtained by addition of a methylene blue (MB) dye solution over the PONb solution formed a blue nanogel that was converted into a stable blue solid through a lyophilization process. The new solid composite, so-called "blue polyoxoniobate" (blue-PONb), presents a two-dimensional (2D) morphology with electrochemical performance that stand out among the materials used in redox supercapacitor technology. This new material was evaluated as supercapacitor electrode showing a high areal specific capacitance and power density that reaches 110.50 mF cm(-2) and 8.49 mW cm(-2). In addition, in this composite the redox additive (MB) and the PONb presented a peculiar electrochemical behavior, the reduction of the niobium species and the transfer of electrons necessary for the accumulation of charge occurring simultaneously. As a result, blue-PONb electrode maintains the cycling performance with high coulombic effi-ciency (similar to 99 %) over the 50,000 cycles evaluated. Here, the origins of the electrochemical stability and the mechanism of operation of the blue-PONb electrode are analyzed and discussed. Finally, this work presents a PONb as a new and promising class of redox-capacitive materials with matrix/redox shuttle synergism.
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| 2. |
- Oliveira, Helena Rodrigues, et al.
(författare)
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Biogas potential of biowaste: A case study in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 2024
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Ingår i: Renewable energy. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 0960-1481 .- 1879-0682. ; 221
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Anaerobic digestion has been widely applied for waste treatment, renewable energy generation , biofertilizer production. The biogas potential in Brazil is sizable, but the state of Rio de Janeiro is largely dependent on fossil fuels , there is a lack of biogas potential assessments in the state. Thus, this study evaluated biomethane, electricity and biofertilizer potentials in the region. Three different scenarios of biomass supply were considered for four major biowaste streams: sewage sludge; cattle manure; sugarcane processing waste; and food waste. Biomethane generation from the assessed sources could reach 0.6-1.3 billion Nm(3) year(-1), corresponding to 1,768-3,961 GWh year(-1) of electricity , 1.6-3.3 million Mg year- 1 of biofertilizer. Cattle manure was responsible for 73-84% of the projected biomethane production, presenting an opportunity to reduce the sig-nificant emissions from livestock farming. The estimated biofertilizer production could meet the demands of the state , the produced electricity could offset up to 10% of the demand. The gas grid could facilitate the dis-tribution of upgraded biomethane, and 10-22% of the natural gas demand could be met. The findings of this work highlight the high potential for biogas generation in Rio de Janeiro, which is up to seven times larger than the current production.
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| 3. |
- Cunha, Jose M. V., et al.
(författare)
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High-Performance and Industrially Viable Nanostructured SiOx Layers for Interface Passivation in Thin Film Solar Cells
- 2021
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Ingår i: Solar RRL. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2367-198X. ; 5:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Herein, it is demonstrated, by using industrial techniques, that a passivation layer with nanocontacts based on silicon oxide (SiOx) leads to significant improvements in the optoelectronical performance of ultrathin Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGS) solar cells. Two approaches are applied for contact patterning of the passivation layer: point contacts and line contacts. For two CIGS growth conditions, 550 and 500 degrees C, the SiOx passivation layer demonstrates positive passivation properties, which are supported by electrical simulations. Such positive effects lead to an increase in the light to power conversion efficiency value of 2.6% (absolute value) for passivated devices compared with a nonpassivated reference device. Strikingly, both passivation architectures present similar efficiency values. However, there is a trade-off between passivation effect and charge extraction, as demonstrated by the trade-off between open-circuit voltage (V-oc) and short-circuit current density (J(sc)) compared with fill factor (FF). For the first time, a fully industrial upscalable process combining SiOx as rear passivation layer deposited by chemical vapor deposition, with photolithography for line contacts, yields promising results toward high-performance and low-cost ultrathin CIGS solar cells with champion devices reaching efficiency values of 12%, demonstrating the potential of SiOx as a passivation material for energy conversion devices.
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| 4. |
- Erjefält, Jonas S., et al.
(författare)
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Diffuse alveolar damage patterns reflect the immunological and molecular heterogeneity in fatal COVID-19
- 2022
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Ingår i: EBioMedicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 2352-3964. ; 83
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Severe COVID-19 lung disease exhibits a high degree of spatial and temporal heterogeneity, with different histological features coexisting within a single individual. It is important to capture the disease complexity to support patient management and treatment strategies. We provide spatially decoded analyses on the immunopathology of diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) patterns and factors that modulate immune and structural changes in fatal COVID-19. Methods: We spatially quantified the immune and structural cells in exudative, intermediate, and advanced DAD through multiplex immunohistochemistry in autopsy lung tissue of 18 COVID-19 patients. Cytokine profiling, viral, bacteria, and fungi detection, and transcriptome analyses were performed. Findings: Spatial DAD progression was associated with expansion of immune cells, macrophages, CD8+ T cells, fibroblasts, and (lymph)angiogenesis. Viral load correlated positively with exudative DAD and negatively with disease/hospital length. In all cases, enteric bacteria were isolated, and Candida parapsilosis in eight cases. Cytokines correlated mainly with macrophages and CD8+T cells. Pro-coagulation and acute repair were enriched pathways in exudative DAD whereas intermediate/advanced DAD had a molecular profile of elevated humoral and innate immune responses and extracellular matrix production. Interpretation: Unraveling the spatial and molecular immunopathology of COVID-19 cases exposes the responses to SARS-CoV-2-induced exudative DAD and subsequent immune-modulatory and remodeling changes in proliferative/advanced DAD that occur side-by-side together with secondary infections in the lungs. These complex features have important implications for disease management and the development of novel treatments. Funding: CNPq, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, HC-Convida, FAPESP, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and the Swedish Heart & Lung Foundation.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Tavares, Julia, et al.
(författare)
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Basin-wide variation in tree hydraulic safety margins predicts the carbon balance of Amazon forests
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Nature. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 617:7959, s. 111-117
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tropical forests face increasing climate risk(1,2), yet our ability to predict their response to climate change is limited by poor understanding of their resistance to water stress. Although xylem embolism resistance thresholds (for example, ?(50)) and hydraulic safety margins (for example, HSM50) are important predictors of drought-induced mortality risk(3-5), little is known about how these vary across Earth's largest tropical forest. Here, we present a pan-Amazon, fully standardized hydraulic traits dataset and use it to assess regional variation in drought sensitivity and hydraulic trait ability to predict species distributions and long-term forest biomass accumulation. Parameters ?(50) and HSM50 vary markedly across the Amazon and are related to average long-term rainfall characteristics. Both ?(50) and HSM50 influence the biogeographical distribution of Amazon tree species. However, HSM50 was the only significant predictor of observed decadal-scale changes in forest biomass. Old-growth forests with wide HSM50 are gaining more biomass than are low HSM(50 )forests. We propose that this may be associated with a growth-mortality trade-off whereby trees in forests consisting of fast-growing species take greater hydraulic risks and face greater mortality risk. Moreover, in regions of more pronounced climatic change, we find evidence that forests are losing biomass, suggesting that species in these regions may be operating beyond their hydraulic limits. Continued climate change is likely to further reduce HSM50 in the Amazon(6,7), with strong implications for the Amazon carbon sink.
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| 7. |
- Charlton, Jennifer R., et al.
(författare)
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Beyond the tubule : pathological variants of LRP2, encoding the megalin receptor, result in glomerular loss and early progressive chronic kidney disease
- 2020
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Ingår i: American Journal of Physiology - Renal Physiology. - : AMER PHYSIOLOGICAL SOC. - 1931-857X .- 1522-1466. ; 319:6, s. F988-F999
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pathogenic variants in the LRP2 gene, encoding the multiligand receptor megalin, cause a rare autosomal recessive syndrome: Donnai-Barrow/Facio-Oculo-Acoustico-Renal (DB/FOAR) syndrome. Because of the rarity of the syndrome, the long-term consequences of the tubulopathy on human renal health have been difficult to ascertain, and the human clinical condition has hitherto been characterized as a benign tubular condition with asymptomatic low-molecularweight proteinuria. We investigated renal function and morphology in a murine model of DB/FOAR syndrome and in patients with DB/FOAR. We analyzed glomerular filtration rate in mice by FETC-inulin clearance and clinically characterized six families, including nine patients with DB/FOAR and nine family members. Urine samples from patients were analyzed by Western blot analysis and biopsy materials were analyzed by histology. In the mouse model, we used histological methods to assess nephrogenesis and postnatal renal structure and contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging to assess glomerular number. In megalin-deficient mice, we found a lower glomerular filtration rate and an increase in the abundance of injury markers, such as kidney injury molecule-1 and N-acetyl-11-n-glucosaminidase. Renal injury was validated in patients, who presented with increased urinary kidney injury molecule-1, classical markers of chronic kidney disease, and glomerular proteinuria early in life. Megalin-deficient mice had normal nephrogenesis, but they had 19% fewer nephrons in early adulthood and an increased fraction of nephrons with disconnected glomerulotubular junction. In conclusion, megalin dysfunction, as present in DB/FOAR syndrome, confers an increased risk of progression into chronic kidney disease.
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| 8. |
- Madeira, Teresa, et al.
(författare)
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National survey of the Portuguese elderly nutritional status : study protocol
- 2016
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Ingår i: BMC Geriatrics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2318. ; 16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Worldwide we are facing a serious demographic challenge due to the dramatic growth of the population over 60 years. It is expected that the proportion of this population will nearly double from 12 to 22 %, between 2015 and 2050. This demographic shift comes with major health and socio-economic concerns. Nutrition is a fundamental determinant of both health and disease and its role in extending a healthy lifespan is the object of considerable research. Notably, malnutrition is one of the main threats to health and quality of life among the elderly. Therefore, knowledge about nutritional status among the elderly is essential for the promotion and maintenance of healthy ageing and to support the development of health protection policies and equity in elderly health care. Methods: This is a nationwide nutrition survey of the Portuguese population over 65 years old, with data collection through face-to-face interviews. A representative and random sample of community dwelling elderly and nursing homes residents will be obtained by multistage sampling stratified per main Portuguese regions, sex and age groups. Minimum sample size was estimated to be 2077 elderly (979 in the community and 1098 in nursing homes). Data will be collected on food habits and eating patterns, nutritional status, food insecurity, lifestyle, self-rated general health status and self-reported diseases, functionality, loneliness, cognitive function, emotional status and demographic and socio-economic characterization. Discussion: This is the first national survey to evaluate the prevalence of nutritional risk and malnutrition of the Portuguese population above 65 years old, including those living in nursing homes. It will allow the identification of population subgroups of elderly with increased odds of malnutrition and nutritional risk. In addition, this survey will contribute to the identification of psychosocial and clinical predictors of malnutrition among elderly, which is an important risk factor for other devastating medical conditions.
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| 9. |
- Nguyen, Thanh N, et al.
(författare)
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Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stroke Volumes and Cerebrovascular Events: A 1-Year Follow-up.
- 2023
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Ingår i: Neurology. - 1526-632X. ; 100:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Declines in stroke admission, IV thrombolysis (IVT), and mechanical thrombectomy volumes were reported during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a paucity of data on the longer-term effect of the pandemic on stroke volumes over the course of a year and through the second wave of the pandemic. We sought to measure the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volumes of stroke admissions, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), IVT, and mechanical thrombectomy over a 1-year period at the onset of the pandemic (March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021) compared with the immediately preceding year (March 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020).We conducted a longitudinal retrospective study across 6 continents, 56 countries, and 275 stroke centers. We collected volume data for COVID-19 admissions and 4 stroke metrics: ischemic stroke admissions, ICH admissions, IVT treatments, and mechanical thrombectomy procedures. Diagnoses were identified by their ICD-10 codes or classifications in stroke databases.There were 148,895 stroke admissions in the 1 year immediately before compared with 138,453 admissions during the 1-year pandemic, representing a 7% decline (95% CI [95% CI 7.1-6.9]; p < 0.0001). ICH volumes declined from 29,585 to 28,156 (4.8% [5.1-4.6]; p < 0.0001) and IVT volume from 24,584 to 23,077 (6.1% [6.4-5.8]; p < 0.0001). Larger declines were observed at high-volume compared with low-volume centers (all p < 0.0001). There was no significant change in mechanical thrombectomy volumes (0.7% [0.6-0.9]; p = 0.49). Stroke was diagnosed in 1.3% [1.31-1.38] of 406,792 COVID-19 hospitalizations. SARS-CoV-2 infection was present in 2.9% ([2.82-2.97], 5,656/195,539) of all stroke hospitalizations.There was a global decline and shift to lower-volume centers of stroke admission volumes, ICH volumes, and IVT volumes during the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the prior year. Mechanical thrombectomy volumes were preserved. These results suggest preservation in the stroke care of higher severity of disease through the first pandemic year.This study is registered under NCT04934020.
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| 10. |
- Oguz-Ekim, Pinar, et al.
(författare)
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TW-TOA BASED COOPERATIVE SENSOR NETWORK LOCALIZATION WITH UNKNOWN TURN-AROUND TIME
- 2013
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Ingår i: ICASSP, IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing - Proceedings. - 1520-6149.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This work aims to estimate multiple node positions in the presence of unknown turn-around times within the context of cooperative sensor network localization. In the adopted scheme, each target can communicate with a set of anchors (probably not in sufficient numbers) and a set of other targets. Two-Way Times-of-Arrival between them are measured, which includes unknown processing delays at both channel endpoints. Since finding the Maximum Likelihood Estimates (MLE) of the positions and turn-around times given those measurements poses a difficult nonconvex optimization problem, it is approximated by a Nonlinear Least Squares problem. Then, the positions and turn-around times of multipletargets are estimated jointly by solving an Euclidean Distance Matrix completion problem. Simulations show that the localization accuracy of the proposed method is good, providing an initial point that subsequently enables MLE to attain the Cram´er-Rao Lower Bound for all considered scenarios.
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