6,628 research outputs found
Design approaches and materials processes for ultrahigh efficiency lattice mismatched multi-junction solar cells
In this study, we report synthesis of large area
(>2cm^2), crack-free GaAs and GaInP double
heterostructures grown in a multi-junction solar cell-like
structure by MOCVD. Initial solar cell data are also
reported for GaInP top cells. These samples were grown
on Ge/Si templates fabricated using wafer bonding and ion
implantation induced layer transfer techniques. The double
heterostructures exhibit radiative emission with uniform
intensity and wavelength in regions not containing
interfacial bubble defects. The minority carrier lifetime of
~1ns was estimated from photoluminescence decay
measurements in both double heterostructures.
We also report on the structural characteristics of
heterostructures, determined via atomic force microscopy
and transmission electron microscopy, and correlate these
characteristics to the spatial variation of the minority
carrier lifetime
Optimization of DNA extraction from human urinary samples for mycobiome community profiling.
IntroductionRecent data suggest the urinary tract hosts a microbial community of varying composition, even in the absence of infection. Culture-independent methodologies, such as next-generation sequencing of conserved ribosomal DNA sequences, provide an expansive look at these communities, identifying both common commensals and fastidious organisms. A fundamental challenge has been the isolation of DNA representative of the entire resident microbial community, including fungi.Materials and methodsWe evaluated multiple modifications of commonly-used DNA extraction procedures using standardized male and female urine samples, comparing resulting overall, fungal and bacterial DNA yields by quantitative PCR. After identifying protocol modifications that increased DNA yields (lyticase/lysozyme digestion, bead beating, boil/freeze cycles, proteinase K treatment, and carrier DNA use), all modifications were combined for systematic confirmation of optimal protocol conditions. This optimized protocol was tested against commercially available methodologies to compare overall and microbial DNA yields, community representation and diversity by next-generation sequencing (NGS).ResultsOverall and fungal-specific DNA yields from standardized urine samples demonstrated that microbial abundances differed significantly among the eight methods used. Methodologies that included multiple disruption steps, including enzymatic, mechanical, and thermal disruption and proteinase digestion, particularly in combination with small volume processing and pooling steps, provided more comprehensive representation of the range of bacterial and fungal species. Concentration of larger volume urine specimens at low speed centrifugation proved highly effective, increasing resulting DNA levels and providing greater microbial representation and diversity.ConclusionsAlterations in the methodology of urine storage, preparation, and DNA processing improve microbial community profiling using culture-independent sequencing methods. Our optimized protocol for DNA extraction from urine samples provided improved fungal community representation. Use of this technique resulted in equivalent representation of the bacterial populations as well, making this a useful technique for the concurrent evaluation of bacterial and fungal populations by NGS
The behavioral immune system: Current concerns and future directions
The behavioral immune system is a motivational system that helps minimize infection risk by changing cognition, affect, and behavior in ways that promote pathogen avoidance. In the current paper, we review foundational concepts of the behavioral immune system and provide a brief summary of recent social psychological research on this topic. Next, we highlight current conceptual and empirical limitations of this work and delineate important questions that have the potential to drive major advances in the field. These questions include predicting the ontological development of the behavioral immune system, specifying the relationship between this system and the physiological immune system, and distinguishing conditions that elicit direct effects of situational pathogen threats versus effects that occur only in interaction with dispositional disease concerns. This discussion highlights significant challenges and underexplored topics to be addressed by the next generation of behavioral immune system research.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142457/1/spc312371.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142457/2/spc312371_am.pd
Dark Matter and Dark Radiation
We explore the feasibility and astrophysical consequences of a new long-range
U(1) gauge field ("dark electromagnetism") that couples only to dark matter,
not to the Standard Model. The dark matter consists of an equal number of
positive and negative charges under the new force, but annihilations are
suppressed if the dark matter mass is sufficiently high and the dark
fine-structure constant is sufficiently small. The correct relic
abundance can be obtained if the dark matter also couples to the conventional
weak interactions, and we verify that this is consistent with particle-physics
constraints. The primary limit on comes from the demand that the
dark matter be effectively collisionless in galactic dynamics, which implies
for TeV-scale dark matter. These values are
easily compatible with constraints from structure formation and primordial
nucleosynthesis. We raise the prospect of interesting new plasma effects in
dark matter dynamics, which remain to be explored.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures Updated equations and figure
Radiative Energy Budget Studies Using Observations from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE)
Our research activities under this NASA grant have focused on two broad topics associated with the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE): (1) the role of clouds and the surface in modifying the radiative balance; and (2) the spatial and temporal variability of the earth's radiation budget. Each of these broad topics is discussed separately in the text that follows. The major points of the thesis are summarized in section 3 of this report. Other dissertation focuses on deriving the radiation budget over the TOGA COARE region
Beyond Outerplanarity
We study straight-line drawings of graphs where the vertices are placed in
convex position in the plane, i.e., convex drawings. We consider two families
of graph classes with nice convex drawings: outer -planar graphs, where each
edge is crossed by at most other edges; and, outer -quasi-planar graphs
where no edges can mutually cross. We show that the outer -planar graphs
are -degenerate, and consequently that every
outer -planar graph can be -colored, and this
bound is tight. We further show that every outer -planar graph has a
balanced separator of size . This implies that every outer -planar
graph has treewidth . For fixed , these small balanced separators
allow us to obtain a simple quasi-polynomial time algorithm to test whether a
given graph is outer -planar, i.e., none of these recognition problems are
NP-complete unless ETH fails. For the outer -quasi-planar graphs we prove
that, unlike other beyond-planar graph classes, every edge-maximal -vertex
outer -quasi planar graph has the same number of edges, namely . We also construct planar 3-trees that are not outer
-quasi-planar. Finally, we restrict outer -planar and outer
-quasi-planar drawings to \emph{closed} drawings, where the vertex sequence
on the boundary is a cycle in the graph. For each , we express closed outer
-planarity and \emph{closed outer -quasi-planarity} in extended monadic
second-order logic. Thus, closed outer -planarity is linear-time testable by
Courcelle's Theorem.Comment: Appears in the Proceedings of the 25th International Symposium on
Graph Drawing and Network Visualization (GD 2017
Benchmarking Technical and Cost Factors in Forest Felling and Processing Operations in Different Global Regions during the Period 2013-2014
In a global bioeconomy, benchmarking costs is essential in the evaluation of current forest harvesting systems and addressing decisions on the most efficient supply chains for available forest resources. Benchmarking cost rates in forestry is challenging, due to a lack of harmonized terminology and difficulties in collecting information on comparable forest technologies. This study provides a first-time series of cost factors to be used when modeling and evaluating the cost competitiveness of forest felling and processing operations on a global scale. It is based on an expert survey using a standardized method of data collection. This benchmarking identifies and updates the knowledge of technical and socio-economic factors capable of influencing the cost rates of forest felling and processing operations across different regions. This study is expected to act as a reference for larger investigations, and for regular updates, with the aim to provide current data that can be used by forest practitioners and decision makers for improving their cost efficiency and for designing future supply systems more effectively
Access to Functionalized Quaternary Stereocenters via the Copper-Catalyzed Conjugate Addition of Monoorganozinc Bromide Reagents Enabled by N,N-Dimethylacetamide
Monoorganozinc reagents, readily obtained from alkyl bromides, display excellent reactivity with β,β-disubstituted enones and TMSCl in the presence of Cu(I) and Cu(II) salts to synthesize a variety of cyclic functionalized β-quaternary ketones in 38–99% yields and 9:1–20:1 diastereoselectivities. The conjugate addition features a pronounced improvement in DMA using monoorganozinc bromide reagents. A simple one-pot protocol that harnesses in situ generated monoorganozinc reagents delivers comparable product yields
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