Objective Serum parameters of calcium homeostasis were measured based on previously published evidence linking osteoporotic fractures and/or bone/mineral loss with antipsychotics. Methods Prospective, four-week, time-series trial was conducted and study population consisted of patients of both genders, aged 35-85 years, admitted within the routine practice, with acute psychotic symptoms, to whom an antipsychotic drug was either introduced or substituted. Serial measurements of serum calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, 25(OH)D, parathyroid hormone, calcitonin, osteocalcin and C-telopeptide were made from patient venous blood samples. Results Calcium serum concentrations significantly decreased from baseline to the fourth week (2.42±0.12 vs. 2.33±0.16 mmol/L, p=0.022, n=25). The mean of all calcemia changes from the baseline was -2.6±5.7% (-24.1 to 7.7) with more decreases than increases (78 vs. 49, p=0.010) and more patents having negative sum of calcemia changes from baseline (n=28) than positive ones (n=10) (p=0.004). There were simultaneous falls of calcium and magnesium from baseline (63/15 vs. 23/26, p<0.001; OR=4.75, 95% CI 2.14-10.51), phosphorous (45/33 vs. 9/40, p<0.001; 6.06, 2.59-14.20) and 25(OH)D concentrations (57/21 vs. 13/35, p<0.001; 7.31, 3.25-16.42), respectively. Calcemia positively correlated with magnesemia, phosphatemia and 25(OH)D values. Parathyroid hormone and C-telopeptide showed only subtle oscillations of their absolute concentrations or changes from baseline; calcitonin and osteocalcin did not change. Adjustment of final calcemia trend (depletion/accumulation) for relevant risk factors, generally, did not change the results. Conclusion In patients with psychotic disorders and several risks for bone metabolism disturbances antipsychotic treatment was associated with the decrease of calcemia and changes in levels of the associated ions.

This paper explores self-heating effects on junctionless gate-all-around nanowire MOSFET using self-consistently coupled 3D full band electro-thermal transport. The self-consistent algorithm begins by supplying the heat generation data from the 3D electron Monte Carlo with 2D quantum correction to the phonon Monte Carlo. Subsequently, the phonon Monte Carlo transports the phonons introduced from the electron simulation and considers their scattering through the anharmonic three-phonon processes. The anharmonic three-phonon decay and the use of full dispersion facilitate a detailed description of heat transfer and the determination of the temperature map. We compare the performance of gate-all-around junctionless against the conventional inversion mode gate-all-around MOSFET. Our results indicate that junctionless MOSFET has less self-heating effects than the conventional inversion mode device, particularly at the limits of high currents.

Over the last few years organic – inorganic halide perovskite-based solar cells have exhibited a rapid evolution, reaching certified power conversion efficiencies now surpassing 20%. Nevertheless the understanding of the optical and electronic properties of such systems on the nanoscale is still an open problem. In this work we investigate two model perovskite systems (based on iodine - CH3NH3PbI3 and bromine - CH3NH3PbBr3), analysing the local elemental composition and crystallinity and identifying chemical inhomogeneities.

Objective was to assess whether the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) as a marker of lipid peroxidation and serum concentration of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) are involved in the process of atherosclerosis in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients nondialysis-dependent and those on peritoneal dialysis (PD), both with signs of cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS). Thirty CKD and 22 PD patients were included in a study. All observed patients were divided into three subgroups depending on the degree of atherosclerotic changes in the carotid arteries (CA). Severity of atherosclerotic changes in the CA was evaluated by ultrasonography. We confirmed significantly lower level of serum MDA throughout all the stages of atherosclerosis in PD patients compared with observed CKD patients (P < 0.05) and increased serum concentration of MDA and MMP-9 with the progression of severity atherosclerotic changes in both groups of patients. The multiple regression analysis revealed that MDA and MMP-9 are significant predictors of changes in IMT-CA CKD patients (P < 0.05) and plaque score on CA in these patients (P < 0.05). The results suggest that MDA and MMP-9 could be mediators of CKD-related vascular remodeling in CMS.

The advanced thermal insulation materials and solutions for improved thermal resistance have been receiving an ever increasing attention due to their significance for sustainable building. Reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions by development and deployment of sustainable construction technologies, systems and materials in new and existing buildings will be key to addressing the challenge of a transition to nearly zero-energy buildings in Europe by 2020. Nanotechnology promises to make thermal insulation more efficient, less reliant on non-renewable resources as an important strategy on the pathway to green buildings. The application of nano insulation materials to limit the wall thickness is one of the greatest potential energy-saving characteristics for the existing buildings, as well as for the architectural heritage. This paper examines the potential advantages of using nanotechnology-based high-performance thermal insulation materials in reducing the life cycle energy, reduction of material usage and enhancing the life span of buildings.

Energy stability and security have become one of the most important issues in recent years on planet Earth. Nowadays, worldwide economic, industrial and social development is related to the energy and energy-system that provided great benefits to a society, but the society is paying a high price because of the production and emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. There are numerous climate changes, which pose a threat to each continent, disorder in agriculture, disorder in food production, floods and fires, as well as changes in the ecosystem. Energy stability and security have become one of the most important issues in recent years. Energy is essential for development of any country, notably when it comes to its industry and economy. Without adequate policy operations of the energy sector, it is not possible to achieve industrial or economic progress. Nevertheless, no matter how important energy is for the development, it is only a mechanism for achieving the ultimate goals – sustainable economy, clean environment, high standard of living, prosperity and health of the population. This paper elaborates on and outlines a strategy for energy development of renewable energy sources in the world, as well as in the European Union. It presents in great details the application of new technologies that have led to the development of renewable energy sources: wind-power, solar energy, small hydro power plants, biomass, and their increase in the overall participation of energy production and reduction of fossil fuels in energy production. Investing in new technologies which use renewable energy sources have led to the increase in employment in the world, so that about 6.5 million people in the world have been employed until today. This paper outlines the trend of increasing energy production from RES (renewable energy sources) by investing in any of the abovementioned energy sources, as well as employment for each energy source in the world and the EU-28. Also, the development of renewable energy sources in the future has been presented.

Investigation of the polycrystalline solar modules energy efficiency in relation to their tilt angle and geographical orientation in the real meteorological conditions are presented in this paper. The experimental system comprises five polycrystalline silicon modules, with single power 50 Wp, three of which are placed vertically and oriented towards the East, South and West, respectively, the fourth is horizontal, while the fifth is oriented toward the South at the angle of 33º (optimally inclined solar module). The measurement period was from 01 August to 01 December, 2014. The optimally inclined solar module generated the most of total monthly energy for all four months. The most of total monthly energy was generated in August, by the optimally inclined solar module (6.07 kWh), horizontal solar module (5.69 kWh), the vertical solar module oriented toward the East (2.42 kWh) and the vertical solar module oriented toward the West (2.52 kWh), respectively. Energy efficiency of optimally inclined solar module for the entire measurement period was 14.27%, 11.41% for the horizontal, 10.37% for the South, 5.79% for the East and 5.23% for the West module. The obtained results can be used in modern architecture, for the application of the solar modules as roof and façade elements.