Predicting the efficiency of luminescent solar concentrators for solar energy harvesting using machine learning.

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is an emerging technology in the solar energy field. It involves using luminescent solar concentrators to convert traditional windows into energy generators by utilizing light harvesting and conversion materials. This study investigates the application of machine learning (ML) to advance the fundamental understanding of optical material design. By leveraging accessible photoluminescent measurements, ML models estimate optical properties, streamlining the process of developing novel materials, offering a cost-effective and efficient alternative to traditional methods, and facilitating the selection of competitive materials. Regression and clustering methods were used to estimate the optical conversion efficiency and power conversion efficiency. The regression models achieved a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 10%, which demonstrates accuracy within a 10% range of possible values. Both regression and clustering models showed high agreement, with a minimal MAE of 7%, highlighting the efficacy of ML in predicting optical properties of luminescent materials for BIPV.

A comprehensive dataset of photonic features on spectral converters for energy harvesting.

Building integrated photovoltaics is a promising strategy for solar technology, in which luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) stand out. Challenges include the development of materials for sunlight harvesting and conversion, which is an iterative optimization process with several steps: synthesis, processing, and structural and optical characterizations before considering the energy generation figures of merit that requires a prototype fabrication. Thus, simulation models provide a valuable, cost-effective, and time-efficient alternative to experimental implementations, enabling researchers to gain valuable insights for informed decisions. We conducted a literature review on LSCs over the past 47 years from the Web of ScienceTM Core Collection, including published research conducted by our research group, to gather the optical features and identify the material classes that contribute to the performance. The dataset can be further expanded systematically offering a valuable resource for decision-making tools for device design without extensive experimental measurements.

Ceftolozane/tazobactam for the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections: A multicenter case series analysis / Ceftolozano/tazobactam para el tratamiento de infecciones por Pseudomonas aeruginosa: una serie de casos multicéntrica

Introduction Pseudomonas aeruginosa displays resistance to several available antibiotics. Infections caused by this pathogen are associated with a high mortality, morbidity, and considerable healthcare resource utilization and costs. This study was aimed at describing the use of ceftolozane/tazobactam (C/T) for the treatment of patients with P. aeruginosa infections. Methods Case series analysis of hospitalized patients treated with C/T for P. aeruginosa infections in five public Portuguese hospitals. Patients presenting with infections caused by this pathogen and receiving C/T for at least 72h during hospitalization were eligible. Results Sixty-four hospitalized patients with P. aeruginosa infections treated with C/T were evaluated between December 2016 and July 2019. Most patients were aged between 60 and 79 years (53.9%). Patients presented a total of 68 P. aeruginosa infections, with respiratory infections being the most common (28.1%, 18 out of 64). Most P. aeruginosa strains (85.9%, 55 out of 64) were extensively drug-resistant (XDR). C/T was mostly used as targeted therapy (98.4%, 63 out of 64 patients) and as monotherapy (72.7%, 47 out of 64 patients). Combination therapy was used in 47.4% (9 out of 19) of patients with bacteriemia. Most patients had successful microbiological (79.2%, 42 out of 53) and clinical (78.7%, 48 out of 61) outcomes. All-cause in-hospital mortality rate was 34.4%. Conclusion The present case series contributes to the body of evidence suggesting that C/T is an effective and safe option for treating P. aeruginosa infections, namely those caused by XDR strains, both when used as mono- or combination therapy (AU)

Introducción Pseudomonas aeruginosa presenta mecanismos de resistencia a diversos antibióticos. Las infecciones causadas por este patógeno aumentan la morbimortalidad, el uso de recursos y los costos asociados. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo describir el uso de ceftolozano/tazobactam (C/T) para el tratamiento de pacientes con infecciones por P. aeruginosa. Métodos Serie de casos de pacientes hospitalizados con infecciones por P. aeruginosa que fueron tratados con C/T en 5 hospitales portugueses. Fueron incluidos pacientes que presentaban infecciones por este patógeno y recibían terapéutica con C/T durante al menos 72 horas. Resultados Entre diciembre de 2016 y julio de 2019 fueron analizados 64 pacientes hospitalizados con infecciones por P. aeruginosa tratados con C/T. La mayoría tenían entre 60 y 79 años (53,9%). Se aislaron 68 infecciones por P. aeruginosa, siendo más frecuentes las respiratorias (28,1%; 18/64). La mayoría de las cepas de P. aeruginosa (85,9%; 55764) eran extremadamente resistentes. El C/T se utilizó principalmente como terapia dirigida (98,4%; 63/64 pacientes) y en monoterapia (72,7%; 47/64 pacientes). La terapia combinada se utilizó en el 47,4% (9/19) de los pacientes con bacteriemia. La mayoría de los pacientes tuvieron resultados microbiológicos (79,2%; 42/53) y clínicos (78,7%; 48/61) satisfactorios. La tasa de mortalidad intrahospitalaria por todas las causas fue del 34,4%. Conclusión La presente serie de casos sustenta que la terapéutica con C/T es una alternativa efectiva y segura para las infecciones por P. aeruginosa, particularmente por cepas extremadamente resistentes, en monoterapia o en terapia combinada (AU)

An autonomous power temperature sensor based on window-integrated transparent PV using sustainable luminescent carbon dots.

The energy efficiency of buildings can be significantly improved through the use of renewable energy sources. Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) appear to be a solution for integrating photovoltaic (PV) devices into the structure of buildings (windows, for instance) to enable low-voltage devices to be powered. Here, we present transparent planar and cylindrical LSCs based on carbon dots in an aqueous solution and dispersed in organic-inorganic hybrid matrices, which present photoluminescent quantum yield values up to 82%, facilitating an effective solar photon conversion. These LSCs showed the potencial for being incorporated as building windows due to an average light transmittance of up to ∼91% and color rendering index of up to 97, with optical and power conversion efficiency values of 5.4 ± 0.1% and 0.18 ± 0.01%, respectively. In addition, the fabricated devices showed temperature sensing ability enabling the fabrication of an autonomous power mobile temperature sensor. Two independent thermometric parameters were established based on the emission and the electrical power generated by the LSC-PV system, which could both be accessed by a mobile phone, enabling mobile optical sensing through multiparametric thermal reading with relative sensitivity values up to 1.0% °C-1, making real-time mobile temperature sensing accessible to all users.

Assessing socioeconomic bias of exposure to urban air pollution: an autopsy-based study in São Paulo, Brazil.

Background: The characterisation of individual exposure to air pollution in urban scenarios is a challenge in environmental epidemiological studies. We investigated if the city's pollution monitoring stations over or underestimate the exposure of individuals depending on their socioeconomic conditions and daily commuting times. Methods: The amount of black carbon accumulated in the lungs of 604 deceased who underwent autopsy in São Paulo was considered as a proxy for PM10. The concentrations of PM10 in the residence of the deceased were estimated by interpolating an ordinary kriging model. These two-exposure metrics allowed us to construct an environmental exposure misclassification index ranging from -1 to 1. The association between the index and daily commuting, socioeconomic context index (GeoSES), and street density as predictors was assessed by means of a multilevel linear regression model. Findings: With a decrease of 0.1 units in GeoSES, the index increases, on average, by 0.028 units and with an increase of 1 h in daily commuting, the index increases, on average, by 0.022 units indicating that individual exposure to air pollution is underestimated in the lower GeoSES and in people with many hours spent in daily commuting. Interpretation: Reduction of health consequences of air pollution demands not only alternative fuel and more efficient mobility strategies, but also should include profound rethink of cities. Funding: São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP-13/21728-2) and National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq-304126/2015-2, 401825/2020-5).

Sputtering of micro-carbon-silver film (µC-Ag) for endotracheal tubes to mitigate respiratory infections.

Polyurethane (PU) substrates are biocompatible materials widely used to manufacture endotracheal tubes. However, in common with other biomedical materials, they are liable to the formation of microbial films. The occurrence of pneumonia in intubated patients treated at intensive care units often takes the form of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). The issue relates to the translocation of pathogenic microorganisms that colonize the oropharyngeal mucosa, dental plaque, stomach, and sinuses. New protective materials can provide a more effective therapeutic approach to mitigating bacterial films. This work concerns microcrystalline carbon film containing dispersed silver nanoparticles (µC-Ag) deposited on PU substrates using a physical vapor deposition sputtering process. For the first time, carbon paper was used to produce a carbon target with holes exposing a silver disk positioned under the carbon paper, forming a single target for use in the sputtering system. The silver nanoparticles were well distributed in the carbon film. The adherence characteristics of the µC-Ag film were evaluated using a tape test technique, and electron dispersive x-ray mapping was performed to analyze the residual particles after the tape test. The microbicidal effect of the thin film was also investigated using speciesS. aureus, a pathogenic microorganism responsible for most infections of the lower respiratory tract involving VAP and ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis (VAT). The results demonstrated that µC-Ag films on PU substrates are promising materials for mitigating pathogenic microorganisms on endotracheal tubes.

Ceftolozane/tazobactam for the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections: A multicenter case series analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Pseudomonas aeruginosa displays resistance to several available antibiotics. Infections caused by this pathogen are associated with a high mortality, morbidity, and considerable healthcare resource utilization and costs. This study was aimed at describing the use of ceftolozane/tazobactam (C/T) for the treatment of patients with P. aeruginosa infections. METHODS: Case series analysis of hospitalized patients treated with C/T for P. aeruginosa infections in five public Portuguese hospitals. Patients presenting with infections caused by this pathogen and receiving C/T for at least 72h during hospitalization were eligible. RESULTS: Sixty-four hospitalized patients with P. aeruginosa infections treated with C/T were evaluated between December 2016 and July 2019. Most patients were aged between 60 and 79 years (53.9%). Patients presented a total of 68 P. aeruginosa infections, with respiratory infections being the most common (28.1%, 18 out of 64). Most P. aeruginosa strains (85.9%, 55 out of 64) were extensively drug-resistant (XDR). C/T was mostly used as targeted therapy (98.4%, 63 out of 64 patients) and as monotherapy (72.7%, 47 out of 64 patients). Combination therapy was used in 47.4% (9 out of 19) of patients with bacteriemia. Most patients had successful microbiological (79.2%, 42 out of 53) and clinical (78.7%, 48 out of 61) outcomes. All-cause in-hospital mortality rate was 34.4%. CONCLUSION: The present case series contributes to the body of evidence suggesting that C/T is an effective and safe option for treating P. aeruginosa infections, namely those caused by XDR strains, both when used as mono- or combination therapy.

Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors for Reinforcing Bar Slippage Detection and Bond-Slip Gradient Characterization.

The detection of bond-slip between the reinforcing bar (RB) and concrete is of great importance to ensure the safety of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. The techniques to monitor the connection between the RB and concrete are in constant development, with special focus on the ones with straightforward operation and simple non-intrusive implementation. In this work, a simple configuration is developed using 10 optical fiber sensors, allowing different sections of the same RC structure to be monitored. Since the RB may suffer different strains along its length, the location of the sensors is critical to provide an early warning about any displacement. Bragg gratings were inscribed in both silica and polymer optical fibers and these devices worked as displacement sensors by monitoring the strain variations on the fibers. The results showed that these sensors can be easily implemented in a civil construction environment, and due to the small dimensions, they can be a non-intrusive technique when multiple sensors are implemented in the same RC structure.

Validation of physician certified verbal autopsy using conventional autopsy: a large study of adult non-external causes of death in a metropolitan area in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Reliable mortality data are essential for the development of public health policies. In Brazil, although there is a well-consolidated universal system for mortality data, the quality of information on causes of death (CoD) is not even among Brazilian regions, with a high proportion of ill-defined CoD. Verbal autopsy (VA) is an alternative to improve mortality data. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of an adapted and reduced version of VA in identifying the underlying causes of non-forensic deaths, in São Paulo, Brazil. This is the first time that a version of the questionnaire has been validated considering the autopsy as the gold standard. METHODS: The performance of a physician-certified verbal autopsy (PCVA) was evaluated considering conventional autopsy (macroscopy plus microscopy) as gold standard, based on a sample of 2060 decedents that were sent to the Post-Mortem Verification Service (SVOC-USP). All CoD, from the underlying to the immediate, were listed by both parties, and ICD-10 attributed by a senior coder. For each cause, sensitivity and chance corrected concordance (CCC) were computed considering first the underlying causes attributed by the pathologist and PCVA, and then any CoD listed in the death certificate given by PCVA. Cause specific mortality fraction accuracy (CSMF-accuracy) and chance corrected CSMF-accuracy were computed to evaluate the PCVA performance at the populational level. RESULTS: There was substantial variability of the sensitivities and CCC across the causes. Well-known chronic diseases with accurate diagnoses that had been informed by physicians to family members, such as various cancers, had sensitivities above 40% or 50%. However, PCVA was not effective in attributing Pneumonia, Cardiomyopathy and Leukemia/Lymphoma as underlying CoD. At populational level, the PCVA estimated cause specific mortality fractions (CSMF) may be considered close to the fractions pointed by the gold standard. The CSMF-accuracy was 0.81 and the chance corrected CSMF-accuracy was 0.49. CONCLUSIONS: The PCVA was efficient in attributing some causes individually and proved effective in estimating the CSMF, which indicates that the method is useful to establish public health priorities.

Bio-Based Solar Energy Harvesting for Onsite Mobile Optical Temperature Sensing in Smart Cities.

The Internet of Things (IoT) fosters the development of smart city systems for sustainable living and increases comfort for people. One of the current challenges for sustainable buildings is the optimization of energy management. Temperature monitoring in buildings is of prime importance, as heating account for a great part of the total energy consumption. Here, a solar optical temperature sensor is presented with a thermal sensitivity of up to 1.23% °C-1 based on sustainable aqueous solutions of enhanced green fluorescent protein and C-phycocyanin from biological feedstocks. These photonic sensors are presented under the configuration of luminescent solar concentrators widely proposed as a solution to integrate energy-generating devices in buildings, as windows or façades. The developed mobile sensor is inserted in IoT context through the development of a self-powered system able to measure, record, and send data to a user-friendly website.

Validation of SmartVA using conventional autopsy: A study of adult deaths in Brazil.

Background: Accurate cause of death data are essential to guide health policy. However, mortality surveillance is limited in many low-income countries. In such settings, verbal autopsy (VA) is increasingly used to provide population-level cause of death data. VAs are now widely interpreted using the automated algorithms SmartVA and InterVA. Here we use conventional autopsy as the gold standard to validate SmartVA methodology. Methods: This study included adult deaths from natural causes in São Paulo and Recife for which conventional autopsy was indicated. VA was conducted with a relative of the deceased using an amended version of the SmartVA instrument to suit the local context. Causes of death from VA were produced using the SmartVA-Analyze program. Physician coded verbal autopsy (PCVA), conducted on the same questionnaires, and Global Burden of Disease Study data were used as additional comparators. Cause of death data were grouped into 10 broad causes for the validation due to the real-world utility of VA lying in identifying broad population cause of death patterns. Findings: The study included 2,060 deaths in São Paulo and 1,079 in Recife. The cause specific mortality fractions (CSMFs) estimated using SmartVA were broadly similar to conventional autopsy for: cardiovascular diseases (46.8% vs 54.0%, respectively), cancers (10.6% vs 11.4%), infections (7.0% vs 10.4%) and chronic respiratory disease (4.1% vs 3.7%), causes accounting for 76.1% of the autopsy dataset. The SmartVA CSMF estimates were lower than autopsy for "Other NCDs" (7.8% vs 14.6%) and higher for diabetes (13.0% vs 6.6%). CSMF accuracy of SmartVA compared to autopsy was 84.5%. CSMF accuracy for PCVA was 93.0%. Interpretation: The results suggest that SmartVA can, with reasonable accuracy, predict the broad cause of death groups important to assess a population's epidemiological transition. VA remains a useful tool for understanding causes of death where medical certification is not possible.

An Optimized Self-Compensated Solution for Temperature and Strain Cross-Sensitivity in FBG Interrogators Based on Edge Filter.

Optical fiber sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) are prone to measurement errors if the cross-sensitivity between temperature and strain is not properly considered. This paper describes a self-compensated technique for canceling the undesired influence of temperature in strain measurement. An edge-filter-based interrogator is proposed and the central peaks of two FBGs (sensor and reference) are matched with the positive and negative slopes of a Fabry-Perot interferometer that acts as an optical filter. A tuning process performed by the grey wolf optimizer (GWO) algorithm is required to determine the optimal spectral characteristics of each FBG. The interrogation range is not compromised by the proposed technique, being determined by the spectral characteristics of the optical filter in accordance with the traditional edge-filtering interrogation. Simulations show that, by employing FBGs with optimal characteristics, temperature variations of 30 °C led to an average relative error of 3.4% for strain measurements up to 700µÏµ. The proposed technique was experimentally tested under non-ideal conditions: two FBGs with spectral characteristics different from the optimized results were used. The temperature sensibility decreased by 50.8% as compared to a temperature uncompensated interrogation system based on an edge filter. The non-ideal experimental conditions were simulated and the maximum error between theoretical and experimental data was 5.79%, proving that the results from simulation and experimentation are compatible.

Spatial-temporal variability of metal pollution across an industrial district, evidencing the environmental inequality in São Paulo.

Although air pollution decreased in some cities that shifted from an industrial to a service-based economy, and vehicular emission regulation became more restrictive, it is still a major risk factor for mortality worldwide. In central São Paulo, Brazil, air quality monitoring stations and tree-ring analyses revealed a decreasing trend in the concentrations of particulate matter and metals. Such trends, however, may not be observed in industrial districts located in the urban periphery, where the usual mobile sources may be combined with local stationary sources. To evaluate environmental pollution in an industrial district in southeastern São Paulo, we assessed its spatial variability, by measuring magnetic properties and concentrations of Al, Ba, Ca, Cl, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, P, S, Sr, Zn in the bark of 62 trees, and its temporal trends, by measuring Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, Zn in tree rings of three trees. Source apportionment analysis based on tree barks revealed two clusters with high concentrations of metals, one related to vehicular and industrial emissions (Al, Ba, Cu, Fe, Zn) in the east side of the industrial cluster, and the other related to soil resuspension (Cu, Zn, Mn) in its west side. These patterns are also supported by the magnetic properties of bark associated with iron oxides and titanium-iron alloy concentrations. Dendrochemical analyses revealed that only the concentrations of Pb consistently decreased over the last four decades. The concentrations of Cd, Cu, Ni, V, and Zn did not significantly decrease over time, in contrast with their negative trends previously reported in central São Paulo. This combined biomonitoring approach revealed spatial clusters of metal concentration in the vicinity of this industrial cluster and showed that the local population has not benefited from the decreasing polluting metal concentrations in the last decades.

Inscription of Bragg gratings in undoped PMMA mPOF with Nd:YAG laser at 266†nm wavelength.

We present the first Bragg gratings fabricated in two, three and five rings undoped PMMA microstructured polymer optical fibres (mPOFs) with relative low cost 266 nm Nd:YAG laser in the 850 nm region. The fibers were connectorised with commercial ferrules for easy coupling with silica patch cables. Temperature, humidity and strain sensitivities are measured and also the impact of ring structure and the diameter of POF on the characterization measurements are studied for potential applications. We also analyzed the effect of the number of hexagonal rings structure in gratings fabrication, noticing that larger number of rings lead to more difficulties to obtain strong gratings, where we consider this performance due to the scattering effects. We demonstrate Bragg gratings fabrication in 5-rings structure mPOF after 6 min by using 266 nm Nd:YAG laser whereas no Bragg gratings have been fabricated so far using 325 nm He-Cd laser system. Up to 30 dB relative reflected power gratings are obtained in two rings mPOF, showing good time stability and promising results for undoped mPOF applications.

High Rate Dynamic Monitoring with Fabry-Perot Interferometric Sensors: An Alternative Interrogation Technique Targeting Biomedical Applications.

Fabry-Perot interferometric (FPI) sensors are an accurate and well-established sensing technology that are used to monitor a wide range of parameters such as strain, temperature, and refractive index, among many others. Nevertheless, due to the limited number and high cost of existing interrogation techniques for FPIs, its use is often restricted to discrete measurements, not being so explored for dynamic applications. The development of an alternative interrogation technique for a high rate of acquisition may propel this type of sensor into less explored fields such as dynamic biomedical applications. In this work, we present the theoretical and experimental analyses of an FPI sensing architecture by using an alternative high rate dynamic acquisition methodology, based on frequency to amplitude conversion, where the FPI spectral shift is detuned by the convolution of the optical light source with the FPI interference pattern. The good agreement between the theoretical and experimental results verified the reliability of the proposed methodology. Moreover, preliminary results show that the developed sensing architecture can be a suitable solution to monitor biomedical parameters such as the carotid pulse wave.

Luminescence Thermometry on the Route of the Mobile-Based Internet of Things (IoT): How Smart QR Codes Make It Real.

Quick Response (QR) codes are a gateway to the Internet of things (IoT) due to the growing use of smartphones/mobile devices and its properties like fast and easy reading, capacity to store more information than that found in conventional codes, and versatility associated to the rapid and simplified access to information. Challenges encompass the enhancement of storage capacity limits and the evolution to a smart label for mobile devices decryption applications. Organic-inorganic hybrids with europium (Eu3+) and terbium (Tb3+) ions are processed as luminescent QR codes that are able to simultaneously double the storage capacity and sense temperature in real time using a photo taken with the charge-coupled device of a smartphone. The methodology based on the intensity of the red and green pixels of the photo yields a maximum relative sensitivity and minimum temperature uncertainty of the QR code sensor (293 K) of 5.14% · K-1 and 0.194 K, respectively. As an added benefit, the intriguing performance results from energy transfer involving the thermal coupling between the Tb3+-excited level (5D4) and the low-lying triplet states of organic ligands, being the first example of an intramolecular primary thermometer. A mobile app is developed to materialize the concept of temperature reading through luminescent QR codes.

The influence that different urban development models has on PM2.5 elemental and bioaccessible profiles.

Limited studies have reported on in-vitro analysis of PM2.5 but as far as the authors are aware, bioaccessibility of PM2.5 in artificial lysosomal fluid (ALF) has not been linked to urban development models before. The Brazilian cities Manaus (Amazon) and Curitiba (South region) have different geographical locations, climates, and urban development strategies. Manaus drives its industrialization using the free trade zone policy and Curitiba adopted a services centered economy driven by sustainability. Therefore, these two cities were used to illustrate the influence that these different models have on PM2.5 in vitro profile. We compared PM2.5 mass concentrations and the average total elemental and bioaccessible profiles for Cu, Cr, Mn, and Pb. The total average elemental concentrations followed Mn > Pb > Cu > Cr in Manaus and Pb > Mn > Cu > Cr in Curitiba. Mn had the lowest solubility while Cu showed the highest bioaccessibility (100%) and was significantly higher in Curitiba than Manaus. Cr and Pb had higher bioaccessibility in Manaus than Curitiba. Despite similar mass concentrations, the public health risk in Manaus was higher than in Curitiba indicating that the free trade zone had a profound effect on the emission levels and sources of airborne PM. These findings illustrate the importance of adopting sustainable air quality strategies in urban planning.

Surface crystallization of ionic liquid crystals.

The evidence for surface crystallization in ionic liquids is scarce. The existing reports seem to be contradictory as for its driving forces, since in the two compounds investigated in the literature, the contribution of coloumbic and van der Waals forces is very different. In this work 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate was studied and its surface crystallization characterized by surface tension, ellipsometry and optical microscopy. The results obtained seem to reconcile previous observations, and it was further shown, using the same techniques, that this phenomenon is prevalent in other ionic liquids. MD simulation results illustrate the different possibilities of organization, providing reasonable models to rationalize the experimental observations.