Identification of the degradation mechanisms of organic solar cells:active layer and interfacial layers

Organic Solar Cells (OSCs) represent a photovoltaic technology with multiple interesting application properties. However, the establishment of this technology into the market is subject to the achievement of operational lifetimes appropriate to their application purposes. Thus, comprehensive understanding of the degradation mechanisms occurring in OSCs is mandatory in both selecting more intrinsically stable components and/or device architectures and implementing strategies that mitigate the encountered stability issues. Inverted devices can suffer from mechanical stress and delamination at the interface between the active layer, e.g. poly(3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM), and the hole transport layer, e.g. poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(p-styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). This work proposes the incorporation of a thin adhesive interlayer, consisting of a diblock copolymer composed of a P3HT block and a thermally-triggerable, alkyl-protected PSS block. In this context, the synthesis of poly(neopentyl p-styrene sulfonate) (PNSS) with controlled molar mass and low dispersity (Ð ≤ 1.50) via Reversible Addition-Fragmentation chain Transfer (RAFT) polymerisation has been extensively studied. Subsequently, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was explored to characterise the thermal deprotection of P3HT-b-PNSS thin layers to yield amphiphilic P3HT-b-PSS, indicating that surface deprotection prior to thermal treatment could occur. Finally, structural variation of the alkyl protecting group in PSS allowed reducing the thermal treatment duration from 3 hours (P3HT-b-PNSS) to 45 minutes for the poly(isobutyl p-styrene sulfonate) (PiBSS) analogous copolymer. Another critical issue regarding the stability of OSCs is the sunlight-driven chemical degradation of the active layer. In the study herein, the combination of experimental techniques and theoretical calculations has allowed identification of the structural weaknesses of poly[(4,4’- bis(2-ethylhexyl) dithieno [3,2-b:2’,3’-d]silole)-2,6-diyl-alt-(4,7-bis(2-thienyl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)-5,5’-diyl], Si-PCPDTBT, upon photochemical treatment in air. Additionally, the study of the relative photodegradation rates in air of a series of polymers with systematically modified backbones and/or alkyl side chains has shown no direct correlation between chemical structure and stability. It is proposed instead that photostability is highly dependent on the crystalline character of the deposited films. Furthermore, it was verified that photostability of blends based on these polymers is dictated by the (de)stabilising effect that [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) has over each polymer. Finally, a multiscale analysis on the degradation of solar cells based on poly[4,4' bis(2- ethylhexyl) dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]silole)-2,6-diyl-alt-[2,5 bis(3 tetradecylthiophen 2-yl)thiazole[5,4-d]thiazole)-1,8-diyl] and PCBM, indicated that by judicious selection of device layers, architectures, and encapsulation materials, operational lifetimes up to 3.3 years with no efficiency losses can be successfully achieved.

The association of depression and perceived stress with beta cell function between African and Haitian Americans with and without type 2 diabetes

Background: Diabetes and diabetes-related complications are major causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Depressive symptoms and perceived stress have been identified as possible risk factors for beta cell dysfunction and diabetes. The purpose of this study was to assess associations between depression symptoms and perceived stress with beta cell function between African and Haitian Americans with and without type 2 diabetes. Participants and Methods: Informed consent and data were available for 462 participants (231 African Americans and 231 Haitian Americans) for this cross-sectional study. A demographic questionnaire developed by the Primary Investigator was used to collect information regarding age, gender, smoking, and ethnicity. Diabetes status was determined by self-report and confirmed by fasting blood glucose. Anthropometrics (weight, and height and waist circumference) and vital signs (blood pressure) were taken. Blood samples were drawn after 8 10 hours over-night fasting to measure lipid panel, fasting plasma glucose and serum insulin concentrations. The homeostatic model assessment, version 2 (HOMA2) computer model was used to calculate beta cell function. Depression was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and stress levels were assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Results: Moderate to severe depressive symptoms were more likely for persons with diabetes (p = 0.030). There were no differences in perceived stress between ethnicity and diabetes status (p = 0.283). General linear models for participants with and without type 2 diabetes using beta cell function as the dependent variable showed no association with depressive symptoms and perceived stress; however, Haitian Americans had significantly lower beta cell function than African Americans both with and without diabetes and adjusting for age, gender, waist circumference and smoking. Further research is needed to compare these risk factors in other race/ethnic groups.

Distribution of neodymium isotopes and concentrations during M77/3 and M77/4

The radiogenic isotope composition of the Rare Earth Element (REE) neodymium (Nd) is a powerful water mass proxy for present and past ocean circulation. The processes controlling the Nd budget of the global ocean are not quantitatively understood and in particular source and sink mechanisms are still under debate. In this study we present the first full water column data set of dissolved Nd isotope compositions and Nd concentrations for the Eastern Equatorial Pacific (EEP), where one of the globally largest Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZ) is located. This region is of particular interest for understanding the biogeochemical cycling of REEs because anoxic conditions may lead to release of REEs from the shelf, whereas high particle densities and fluxes potentially remove the REEs from the water column. Data were obtained between 11400N and 161S along a nearshore and an offshore transect. Near surface zonal current bands, such as the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) and the Subsurface Countercurrent (SSCC), which are supplying oxygen-rich water to the OMZ are characterized by radiogenic Nd isotope signatures (eNd=-2). Surface waters in the northernmost part of the study area are even more radiogenic (eNd = +3), most likely due to release of Nd from volcanogenic material. Deep and bottom waters at the southernmost offshore station (141S) are clearly controlled by advection of water masses with less radiogenic signatures (eNd=- 7) originating from the Southern Ocean. Towards the equator, however, the deep waters show a clear trend towards more radiogenic values of up to eNd=-2. The northernmost station located in the Panama basin shows highly radiogenic Nd isotope signatures in the entire water column, which indicates that particle scavenging, downward transport and release processes play an important role. This is supported by relatively low Nd concentrations in deep waters (3000-6000 m) in the EEP (20 pmol/kg) compared to locations in the Northern and Central Pacific (40-60 pmol/kg), which suggests enhanced removal of Nd in the EEP.

Relação entre estresse percebido e qualidade de vida em pessoas idosas

O envelhecimento é um processo multifatorial, influenciado por mudanças biológicas, sociais e psicológicas que pode estar associado ao desenvolvimento de estresse e ao comprometimento da qualidade de vida. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a relação entre o estresse percebido e a qualidade de vida em idosos no município de Campina Grande, PB. O estudo teve um delineamento transversal e descritivo, com abordagem quantitativa, amostragem do tipo snowboll e não probabilística, com amostra composta por 326 idosos, considerando as perdas, totalizaram 253 idosas para a análise dos dados. Foram realizados análises descritivas e testes paramétricos e não-paramétricos entre as características da amostra, adotando um nível de significância de 5%. Utilizou-se como instrumentos um questionário sócio-demográfico e epidemiológico, o Índice de Barthel, a Escala de Atividades Instrumentais de Vida Diária de Lawton e Brody, as Escalas de Estresse Percebido, PSS14 e PSS10 e o SF-36, para avaliar a qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde. As idosas participantes apresentaram o seguinte perfil sócio-demográfico e epidemiológico: idade média de 71,3 anos; 80,2% casadas ou viúvas; 55,3% praticam alguma atividade física; aproximadamente 50% tinham menos de 8 anos de estudo; 76,7% recebiam até dois salários mínimos por mês; a maioria, 82,2%, vivia com a família; e 87,4% apresentava alguma doença crônica. Com relação ao estresse percebido, foi possível identificar que as pontuações da P SS-14 e PSS-10 variaram entre, 2-53 e 4-39, respectivamente, sendo que a quantidade de participantes com valores PSS-14  28 e PSS-10  21 foram de 15.8% (n = 40) e 20.6% (n= 52), respectivamente. Na avaliação da qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde, os escores do SF-36 foram menores nas dimensões de dor (62,7) e aspectos físicos (63,6), e maiores nas dimensões aspectos sociais (84,4) e saúde mental (75,6). Observou-se uma correlação negativa e estatisticamente significativa entre os valores de estresse percebido e os domínios do SF-36 (p <0,001). O estresse percebido relacionou-se tanto com os aspectos físicos e funcionais como com a saúde mental das idosas, apresentando uma associação com a qualidade de vida de forma global, sendo um ótimo indicador da qualidade de vida das idosas.

Crenças e experiências de professores no PIBID de Língua Inglesa : interação e ressignificação?

There are diverse studies about beliefs in Applied Linguistics since 1970 or so (BARCELOS, 2004), especially beliefs about teaching and learning Foreign Languages. The research about beliefs and experiences of English language teachers, who take part in a program of teaching incentive (Pibid), and, therefore, are immersed in public schools for elementary education, is relevant, once the (ac)knowledgment of these beliefs related to their teaching and learning experiences allows these teachers to reflect about the aspects that involve their teaching practice and their role as teachers of English language. The present work aims to investigate the interaction of beliefs and experiences related to foreign language teaching and learning of teachers who are participants of Pibid, in the subproject of English Language at the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU), in 2013. The objective is to identify the beliefs and experiences about teaching and learning that the pre-service teachers (PI), the coordinator teacher (PF) and the supervisor teachers (PS) of the program show and how their beliefs and experiences influence each other and can or cannot be redefined. This is a qualitative and interpretative master’s research, in which I analized one narrative of each PI, one interview of PF and another of each PS, and, also, two meetings – the first between the PF and the PIs, and the second between all the participants in the subproject. All the data was collected at the end of their participation in Pibid, approximately one year and six months later. Therefore, I raised some beliefs and experiences about English language teaching and learning present in the teachers’ discourse and analized excerpts in their speech that evidenced the interaction with other participants and its influence to the formation, confirmation, demystification and redefinition of their beliefs. The results of this analysis bring elements that may help the constant reflection of university teachers, teachers in practice and pre-service teachers about the aspects that involve the teaching experiences in public schools.

Preparação de catalisadores para reações de esterificação do ácido oleico baseados em matrizes polímericas sulfonadas POLI(1- FENILETILENO) (PS) e POLI(1-CLOROETILENO) (PVC)

Chemical modification of polymer matrices is an alternative way to change its surface properties. The introduction of sulfonic acid groups in polymer matrices alter properties such as adhesion, wettability, biocampatibility, catalytic activity, among others. This paper describes the preparation of polymeric solid acid based on the chemical modification of poly (1-fenietileno) (PS) and Poly (1-chloroethylene) (PVC) by the introduction of sulfonic acid groups and the application of these polymers as catalysts in the esterification reaction of oleic acid with methanol. The modified materials were characterized by Infrared Spectroscopy, Elemental Analysis and titration acid-base of the acid groups. All techniques confirmed the chemical changes and the presence of sulfur associated with sulfonic acid groups or sulfates. The modified polymers excellent performance in the esterification reaction of oleic acid with methanol a degree of conversion higher than 90% for all investigated polymers (modified PS and PVC (5% w / w)), with a mass ratio of oleic acid: methanol 1:10 to 100 ° C. The best performance was observed for the modified PVC catalyst (PVCS) which showed low degree of swelling during the reactions is recovered by filtration different from that observed for polystyrene sulfonate (PSS). Given these facts, the PVCS was employed as a catalyst in the esterification reaction of oleic acid in different times and different temperatures to obtain the kinetic parameters of the reaction. Experimental data show a great fit for pseudo-homogeneous model of second order and activation energy value of 41.12 kJ mol -1, below that found in the literature for the uncatalyzed reaction, 68.65 kJ mol -1 .The PVCS exhibits good catalytic activity for 3 times of reuse, with a slight decrease in the third cycle, but with a conversion of about 78%. The results show that solid polymeric acid has good chemical stability for the application in esterification reaction of commercial importance with possible application in the biodiesel production. The advantages in use of this system are the increased reaction rate at about 150 times, at these test conditions, the replacement of sulfuric acid as a catalyst for this being the most corrosive and the possibility of reuse of the polymer for several cycles.

QUALIDADE DE VIDA – UM ESTUDO REALIZADO COM DIRETORES DE ESCOLAS PÚBLICAS

A estrutura política e econômica brasileira promove uma sociedade marcada por desigualdades sociais, gerando indignações e diversos conflitos. Estresse, ansiedade, depressão, mal estar profissional, infraestrutura precária, alimentação inadequada, sedentarismo, (i)mobilidade urbana, fragilidade dos vínculos sociais, poluição, dentre outros, são fatores contemporâneos que afetam a qualidade de vida dos seres humanos. Este cenário merece atenção peculiar quando nos remetemos ao ambiente escolar. Este estudo teve por objetivo avaliar a qualidade de vida bem como identificar o grau de estresse percebido em diretores de Escolas Municipais de Educação Infantil (EMEIs) na Cidade de São Paulo. Participaram do estudo 86 Diretores de Escolas, correspondendo a 16,04% do total de diretores de EMEIs da Rede Municipal de Educação (RME). Os instrumentos utilizados foram: Questionário sociodemográfico, Instrumento de Avaliação de Qualidade de Vida-abreviado - WHOQOL-bref e a Escala de Estresse Percebido – PSS. Os resultados revelaram que, em média, 70,9% possuem uma excessiva rotina de trabalho, caracterizadas por: chegar mais cedo e/ou sair mais tarde do expediente normal; receber e/ou fazer ligações, mensagens, e-mails ou similares, relacionados à direção, fora do expediente de trabalho e levar serviços para casa e/ou se preocupar com questões relativas à direção, após encerrar o expediente. A maioria (60,05%) acredita que as condições de trabalho, enquanto Diretor de Escola influenciam negativamente na saúde pessoal. Tanto o índice geral da Qualidade de Vida quanto em relação aos domínios do WHOQOL-bref mostraram médias significativamente abaixo dos dados normativos brasileiros 12,7±3,1 (p<0,001). Quanto ao nível de estresse percebido, inicialmente analisamos as frequências referentes aos respectivos níveis. Os resultados mostraram que o nível de estresse percebido se situa entre 48,8% de “às vezes” para 41,9% de “quase sempre”. Este resultado se apresenta estatisticamente significativo (χ2 p<0,05). Com base neste estudo pudemos observar a escassez de estudos sobre QV e estresse com Diretores de Escolas e que a QV se apresentou significativamente baixa, bem como a percepção de estresse em quase metade da amostra estudada.

Utilização de dispositivos de armazenamento de energia em apoio ao funcionamento de redes isoladas

Temos assistido nos últimos anos à proliferação da produção distribuída de electricidade, sobretudo, com recurso a fontes de energia renováveis, implicando a natural reestruturação das redes eléctricas existentes, desde a produção até ao consumidor final. As constantes preocupações na garantia da qualidade de serviço e até mesmo em termos ambientais, levam a que a operacionalidade das redes seja cada vez mais eficiente, visando a integração de tecnologias emergentes como é o caso dos sistemas de armazenamento de energia. A aposta nas energias de origem renovável nomeadamente a solar e a eólica, representa uma forma cada vez mais presente de geração de electricidade, tendo como grande inconveniente o regime de intermitência a que estão sujeitas, não se conseguindo tirar proveitos absolutos de todas as potencialidades que estas fontes proporcionam. Existem actualmente sistemas de armazenamento de energia que permitem optimizar o comportamento das redes. Nesta dissertação é feita uma abordagem a alguns desses sistemas, tendo como objectivo principal a demonstração das potencialidades de optimização dos sistemas de produção e distribuição de energia eléctrica com recurso a sistemas de armazenamento de energia, em redes isoladas e interligadas. É também feito um estudo do comportamento dinâmico de uma rede com vários cenários de ocorrência de defeitos, com e sem armazenamento de energia. Para isso a base deste trabalho consistiu na familiarização com uma ferramenta de grande potencial na simulação dinâmica de redes eléctricas, utilizado por prestigiados grupos de energia a nível mundial, na qual foi implementada a rede de teste e efectuadas as simulações do estudo.

Conceptual designs of multi-degree of freedom compliant parallel manipulators composed of wire-beam based compliant mechanisms

This paper proposes conceptual designs of multi-degree(s) of freedom (DOF) compliant parallel manipulators (CPMs) including 3-DOF translational CPMs and 6-DOF CPMs using a building block based pseudo-rigid-body-model (PRBM) approach. The proposed multi-DOF CPMs are composed of wire-beam based compliant mechanisms (WBBCMs) as distributed-compliance compliant building blocks (CBBs). Firstly, a comprehensive literature review for the design approaches of compliant mechanisms is conducted, and a building block based PRBM is then presented, which replaces the traditional kinematic sub-chain with an appropriate multi-DOF CBB. In order to obtain the decoupled 3-DOF translational CPMs (XYZ CPMs), two classes of kinematically decoupled 3-PPPR (P: prismatic joint, R: revolute joint) translational parallel mechanisms (TPMs) and 3-PPPRR TPMs are identified based on the type synthesis of rigid-body parallel mechanisms, and WBBCMs as the associated CBBs are further designed. Via replacing the traditional actuated P joint and the traditional passive PPR/PPRR sub-chain in each leg of the 3-DOF TPM with the counterpart CBBs (i.e. WBBCMs), a number of decoupled XYZ CPMs are obtained by appropriate arrangements. In order to obtain the decoupled 6-DOF CPMs, an orthogonally-arranged decoupled 6-PSS (S: spherical joint) parallel mechanism is first identified, and then two example 6-DOF CPMs are proposed by the building block based PRBM method. It is shown that, among these designs, two types of monolithic XYZ CPM designs with extended life have been presented.

Produzione di micro-supercapacitori allo stato semisolido per applicazioni portatili

La seguente tesi prevede la costruzione e caratterizzazione di un micro-supercapacitore asimmetrico composto da un anodo a base di ZnO ed un catodo a base di grafene ossido ridotto (rGO); la combinazione di due materiali con differente natura di accumulo di carica permette quindi di ottenere dispositivi con migliori performance elettrochimiche. Entrambi gli elettrodi sono stati depositati per via elettrochimica su substrati flessibili di PET-ITO. L'ottimizzazione delle proprietà dello ZnO è stata fatta tramite l'aggiunta di molecole di tensioattivi durante la deposizione dello stesso. I risultati ottenuti mostrano un effettivo miglioramento delle proprietà elettrochimiche e della trasparenza dei film di ZnO prodotto grazie all'effetto di tali tensioattivi. Inoltre anche le proprietà di rGO sono state ottimizzate allo scopo di ottenere buone proprietà elettrochimiche abbinate all'elevata trasparenza del film prodotto. Infine sono stati costruiti micro-supercapacitori allo stato semisolido con differenti agenti gelificanti (silice e Nanoclay) ed il loro funzionamento è stato dimostrato.

On precise three-dimensional environment modeling via UAV-based photogrammetric systems

Abstract : Images acquired from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can provide data with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution for three-dimensional (3D) modeling. Solutions developed for this purpose are mainly operating based on photogrammetry concepts, namely UAV-Photogrammetry Systems (UAV-PS). Such systems are used in applications where both geospatial and visual information of the environment is required. These applications include, but are not limited to, natural resource management such as precision agriculture, military and police-related services such as traffic-law enforcement, precision engineering such as infrastructure inspection, and health services such as epidemic emergency management. UAV-photogrammetry systems can be differentiated based on their spatial characteristics in terms of accuracy and resolution. That is some applications, such as precision engineering, require high-resolution and high-accuracy information of the environment (e.g. 3D modeling with less than one centimeter accuracy and resolution). In other applications, lower levels of accuracy might be sufficient, (e.g. wildlife management needing few decimeters of resolution). However, even in those applications, the specific characteristics of UAV-PSs should be well considered in the steps of both system development and application in order to yield satisfying results. In this regard, this thesis presents a comprehensive review of the applications of unmanned aerial imagery, where the objective was to determine the challenges that remote-sensing applications of UAV systems currently face. This review also allowed recognizing the specific characteristics and requirements of UAV-PSs, which are mostly ignored or not thoroughly assessed in recent studies. Accordingly, the focus of the first part of this thesis is on exploring the methodological and experimental aspects of implementing a UAV-PS. The developed system was extensively evaluated for precise modeling of an open-pit gravel mine and performing volumetric-change measurements. This application was selected for two main reasons. Firstly, this case study provided a challenging environment for 3D modeling, in terms of scale changes, terrain relief variations as well as structure and texture diversities. Secondly, open-pit-mine monitoring demands high levels of accuracy, which justifies our efforts to improve the developed UAV-PS to its maximum capacities. The hardware of the system consisted of an electric-powered helicopter, a high-resolution digital camera, and an inertial navigation system. The software of the system included the in-house programs specifically designed for camera calibration, platform calibration, system integration, onboard data acquisition, flight planning and ground control point (GCP) detection. The detailed features of the system are discussed in the thesis, and solutions are proposed in order to enhance the system and its photogrammetric outputs. The accuracy of the results was evaluated under various mapping conditions, including direct georeferencing and indirect georeferencing with different numbers, distributions and types of ground control points. Additionally, the effects of imaging configuration and network stability on modeling accuracy were assessed. The second part of this thesis concentrates on improving the techniques of sparse and dense reconstruction. The proposed solutions are alternatives to traditional aerial photogrammetry techniques, properly adapted to specific characteristics of unmanned, low-altitude imagery. Firstly, a method was developed for robust sparse matching and epipolar-geometry estimation. The main achievement of this method was its capacity to handle a very high percentage of outliers (errors among corresponding points) with remarkable computational efficiency (compared to the state-of-the-art techniques). Secondly, a block bundle adjustment (BBA) strategy was proposed based on the integration of intrinsic camera calibration parameters as pseudo-observations to Gauss-Helmert model. The principal advantage of this strategy was controlling the adverse effect of unstable imaging networks and noisy image observations on the accuracy of self-calibration. The sparse implementation of this strategy was also performed, which allowed its application to data sets containing a lot of tie points. Finally, the concepts of intrinsic curves were revisited for dense stereo matching. The proposed technique could achieve a high level of accuracy and efficiency by searching only through a small fraction of the whole disparity search space as well as internally handling occlusions and matching ambiguities. These photogrammetric solutions were extensively tested using synthetic data, close-range images and the images acquired from the gravel-pit mine. Achieving absolute 3D mapping accuracy of 11±7 mm illustrated the success of this system for high-precision modeling of the environment.

Role of substrate quality on the performance of semipolar (11 2 - 2) InGaN light-emitting diodes

We compare the optical properties and device performance of unpackaged InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well light-emitting diodes (LEDs) emitting at ∼430 nm grown simultaneously on a high-cost small-size bulk semipolar (11 2 - 2) GaN substrate (Bulk-GaN) and a low-cost large-size (11 2 - 2) GaN template created on patterned (10 1 - 2) r-plane sapphire substrate (PSS-GaN). The Bulk-GaN substrate has the threading dislocation density (TDD) of ∼ and basal-plane stacking fault (BSF) density of 0 cm-1, while the PSS-GaN substrate has the TDD of ∼2 × 108cm-2 and BSF density of ∼1 × 103cm-1. Despite an enhanced light extraction efficiency, the LED grown on PSS-GaN has two-times lower internal quantum efficiency than the LED grown on Bulk-GaN as determined by photoluminescence measurements. The LED grown on PSS-GaN substrate also has about two-times lower output power compared to the LED grown on Bulk-GaN substrate. This lower output power was attributed to the higher TDD and BSF density.

Flexible Sensor for Wearable Vital Sign Monitoring System

In modern society, the body health is a very important issue to everyone. With the development of the science and technology, the new and developed body health monitoring device and technology will play the key role in the daily medical activities. This paper focus on making progress in the design of the wearable vital sign system. A vital sign monitoring system has been proposed and designed. The whole detection system is composed of signal collecting subsystem, signal processing subsystem, short-range wireless communication subsystem and user interface subsystem. The signal collecting subsystem is composed of light source and photo diode, after emiting light of two different wavelength, the photo diode collects the light signal reflected by human body tissue. The signal processing subsystem is based on the analog front end AFE4490 and peripheral circuits, the collected analog signal would be filtered and converted into digital signal in this stage. After a series of processing, the signal would be transmitted to the short-range wireless communication subsystem through SPI, this subsystem is mainly based on Bluetooth 4.0 protocol and ultra-low power System on Chip(SoC) nRF51822. Finally, the signal would be transmitted to the user end. After proposing and building the system, this paper focus on the research of the key component in the system, that is, the photo detector. Based on the study of the perovskite materials, a low temperature processed photo detector has been proposed, designed and researched. The device is made up of light absorbing layer, electron transporting and hole blocking layer, hole transporting and electron blocking layer, conductive substrate layer and metal electrode layer. The light absorbing layer is the important part of whole device, and it is fabricated by perovskite materials. After accepting the light, the electron-hole pair would be produced in this layer, and due to the energy level difference, the electron and hole produced would be transmitted to metal electrode and conductive substrate electrode through electron transporting layer and hole transporting layer respectively. In this way the response current would be produced. Based on this structure, the specific fabrication procedure including substrate cleaning; PEDOT:PSS layer preparation; pervoskite layer preparation; PCBM layer preparation; C60, BCP, and Ag electrode layer preparation. After the device fabrication, a series of morphological characterization and performance testing has been done. The testing procedure including film-forming quality inspection, response current and light wavelength analysis, linearity and response time and other optical and electrical properties testing. The testing result shows that the membrane has been fabricated uniformly; the device can produce obvious response current to the incident light with the wavelength from 350nm to 800nm, and the response current could be changed along with the light wavelength. When the light wavelength keeps constant, there exists a good linear relationship between the intensity of the response current and the power of the incident light, based on which the device could be used as the photo detector to collect the light information. During the changing period of the light signal, the response time of the device is several microseconds, which is acceptable working as a photo detector in our system. The testing results show that the device has good electronic and optical properties, and the fabrication procedure is also repeatable, the properties of the devices has good uniformity, which illustrates the fabrication method and procedure could be used to build the photo detector in our wearable system. Based on a series of testing results, the paper has drawn the conclusion that the photo detector fabricated could be integrated on the flexible substrate and is also suitable for the monitoring system proposed, thus made some progress on the research of the wearable monitoring system and device. Finally, some future prospect in system design aspect and device design and fabrication aspect are proposed.

Développement et pré-test d’un plan de soins de suivi pour des femmes atteintes du cancer de l’endomètre avec traitements adjuvants lors de la transition de la fin du traitement actif vers la survie au cancer

La fin du traitement actif et le début de la phase de survie correspondent à une période de transition qui présente de nombreux défis pour la personne survivante au cancer, les soignants et le système de santé. La phase de survie au cancer est une phase distincte mais négligée du continuum de soins. Pour faciliter la transition de la fin du traitement actif vers la survie et optimiser la coordination des soins de suivi, la mise en place d’un plan de soins de suivi (PSS) est proposée. Le but de cette recherche est de développer, de mettre en place et d’évaluer si un plan de soins de suivi (PSS) permet de répondre aux besoins globaux, de diminuer la détresse émotionnelle et de favoriser les comportements d’autogestion de santé de femmes atteintes du cancer de l’endomètre (FACE) lors de la transition de la fin du traitement actif vers la survie au cancer. Elle comprend deux phases distinctes. La première phase visait d’abord le développement d’un plan de soins de suivi (PSS) pour des femmes atteintes du cancer de l’endomètre avec traitements adjuvants. La sélection du contenu du PSS a été faite à partir de la recension des écrits et des données recueillies lors d’entrevues individuelles avec 19 FACE, 24 professionnels de la santé travaillant avec cette clientèle et quatre gestionnaires de proximité en oncologie. Cette première phase avait également pour but la validation du contenu du PSS auprès de dix professionnels de la santé impliqués dans l’étude. La seconde phase consistait à évaluer la faisabilité, l’acceptabilité du PSS et à en pré-tester l’utilité à répondre aux besoins globaux, à diminuer la détresse émotionnelle (peur de la récidive) et à favoriser l’autogestion de santé auprès d’un groupe de 18 femmes atteintes du cancer de l’endomètre avec traitements adjuvants à la fin du traitement actif vers la survie. Sur le plan de la faisabilité, les résultats suggèrent que la mise en place du PSS comporte des défis en termes de temps, de ressources et de coordination pour l’infirmière pivot en oncologie (IPO). Concernant l’acceptabilité du PSS, les FACE le perçoivent comme un outil d’information utile qui favorise la communication avec le médecin de famille ou d’autres professionnels de la santé. Les IPO soutiennent sa valeur ajoutée à la fin du traitement et soulignent que la discussion du contenu du PSS fait ressortir des éléments de surveillance et de suivi essentiels à prendre en compte pour la phase de survie et permet de mettre l’emphase sur l’autogestion de sa santé. Pour les médecins de famille, le PSS est un outil d’information pour les survivantes qui favorise la réassurance, la communication et la continuité des soins entre professionnels de la santé. Enfin, pour ce qui est de l’utilité du PSS à répondre aux besoins globaux, les résultats suggèrent que l’ensemble des besoins sont plus satisfaits trois mois après la fin des traitements pour le groupe ayant reçu un PSS. Bien que la peur de récidive du cancer (PRC) s’améliore au suivi de trois mois pour le groupe exposé au PSS, 55% des FACE conservent un score cliniquement significatif de 13 à la sous-échelle de sévérité de peur de récidive à la fin du traitement et 42% au suivi de trois mois. Les comportements d’autogestion de santé s’améliorent entre la fin du traitement et le suivi de trois mois pour le groupe exposé un PSS. Considérant ces résultats, la démarche soutient la pertinence de mettre en place un PSS à la fin du traitement actif pour les FACE pour répondre à des besoins d’information, favoriser la communication et la continuité des soins avec les professionnels de la santé et les comportements d’autogestion de santé dans la phase de survie. Cependant, des contraintes de temps, de ressources et de coordination doivent être prises en compte pour sa mise en place dans le milieu clinique. Mots-clés : Transition, fin du traitement actif, besoins, survie au cancer, plan de soins de suivi.

Perception du soutien social face au réseau des pairs et face à la famille chez les élèves en difficultés d'apprentissage et les décrocheurs au secondaire

Les objectifs de ce mémoire sont, d'une part, de vérifier la perception du soutien social face au réseau des pairs et face à la famille chez les élèves en difficultés d'apprentissage et les décrocheurs au secondaire. D'autre part, cette étude cherche à vérifier les différences entre les filles et les garçons. Un échantillon de 115 adolescentes et adolescents provenant de la polyvalente St-Jérôme de la région des Laurentides sont les sujets à l'étude (45 filles et 70 garçons). Parmi ceux-ci, on dénombre trois groupes. Tout d'abord, on retrouve les élèves faisant partie d'un groupe d'insertion sociale et professionnelle au marché du travail et présentant un retard scolaire d'au moins deux ans (groupe I. S. P. M. T.) (n=37). Un deuxième groupe est constitué d'élèves ayant doublé une année et présentant un retard scolaire d'une année (groupe des doubleurs) (n=32). Enfin, un dernier groupe comprend des élèves fréquentant le secondaire trois et faisant partie du cheminement régulier (groupe régulier) (n=46). Les sujets ont été évalués avec le Questionnaire de perception du soutien social face au réseau des pairs et face à la famille (traduction du Perceived Social Support From Friends and From Family (PSS-Fr, PSS-Fa) (Procidano & Heller, 1983). Une analyse de la variance (ANOVA) révèle un effet principal au niveau du groupe. L'analyse post-hoc (Tuckey A-LSD) indique que les élèves du groupe des doubleurs (difficultés légères d'apprentissage) présentent une perception du soutien social significativement plus élevée face au réseau des pairs que les élèves du groupe I. S. P. M. T. (difficultés graves d'apprentissage) (F = 3,558, p < ,05). Toutefois, le groupe I. S. P. M. T. ne se distingue pas du groupe régulier. L'interprétation des résultats permet de considérer les variables troubles du comportement et habiletés sociales pouvant jouer un rôle déterminant auprès du groupe des doubleurs. L'effet d'interaction de l'ANOVA (Sexe X Décrochage) infirme la deuxième hypothèse. À titre exploratoire, nous avons introduit, dans le cadre des analyses, la variable groupe. L'effet d'interaction à trois dimensions de l'ANOVA (Sexe X Groupe X Décrochage) indique que les décrocheuses du groupe I. S. P. M. T. présentent, d'une façon significative, la perception du soutien social face au réseau des pairs la plus élevée (F = 5,936, p < ,01). Afin d'expliquer ce résultat, l'interprétation permet de mettre en lumière les différences concernant les relations interpersonnelles et le rôle du réseau des pairs chez les filles et les garçons. Enfin, les décrocheurs présentent une perception du soutien social face à la famille significativement plus faible que les décrocheuses (F = 10,784, p < ,001). Ce résultat amène un aspect nouveau dans la compréhension de la problématique du décrochage scolaire par l'entremise, une fois de plus, des différences entre les filles et les garçons en ce qui a trait à la famille.