Method of fabricating a photovoltaic module of a substantially transparent construction

A method characterized by the steps of positioning a plurality of uniformly dimensioned photovoltaic cells in registered relation with a plurality of openings formed in a planar tool is disclosed. The method allows acess to the P contact surface of each of the cells. The steps of the method are: (1) connecting the N contact surface of alternate cells to the P contact surface of the cells interposed therebetween, (2) removing therefrom residue of solder flux, (3) applying to the N contact surfaces of the cells a transparent adhesive, (4) placing a common transparent cover plate in engaged relation with the adhesive, (5) placing a film over the circular openings for hermetically sealing the openings, and (6) establishing a vacuum between the film and the cover plate

Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA) study of atmospheric particles

The results of analyses by ESCA (Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis) on several Nuclepore filters which were exposed during air pollution studies are presented along with correlative measurements by Neutron Activation Analysis and Scanning Electron Microscopy. Samples were exposed during air pollution studies at Norfolk, Virginia and the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC). It was demonstrated that with the ESCA technique it was possible to identify the chemical (bonding) state of elements contained in the atmospheric particulate matter collected on Nuclepore filters. Sulfur, nitrogen, mercury, chlorine, alkali, and alkaline earth metal species were identified in the Norfolk samples. ESCA binding energy data for aluminum indicated that three chemically different types of aluminum are present in the launch and background samples from NASA-KSC

Summoning the wind: Hydrodynamic cooperation of forcibly ejected fungal spores

The forcibly launched spores of the crop pathogen \emph{Sclerotinia sclerotiorum} must eject through many centimeters of nearly still air to reach the flowers of the plants that the fungus infects. Because of their microscopic size, individually ejected spores are quickly brought to rest by drag. In the accompanying fluid dynamics video we show experimental and numerical simulations that demonstrate how, by coordinating the nearly simultaneous ejection of hundreds of thousands of spores,\emph{Sclerotinia} and other species of apothecial fungus are able to sculpt a flow of air that carries spores across the boundary layer and around intervening obstacles. Many spores are sacrificed to create this flow of air. Although high speed imaging of spore launch in a wild isolate of the dung fungus \emph{Ascobolus} shows that the synchronization of spore ejections is self-organized, which could lead to spores delaying their ejection to avoid being sacrificed, simulations and asymptotic analysis show that, close the fruit body, ejected spores form a sheet-like jet that advances across the fruit body as more spores are ejected. By ejecting on the arrival of the sheet spores maximize \emph{both} their range and their contribution to the cooperative wind.Comment: Submission to the DFD 2009 Gallery of Fluid Motio

Use of hamster as a model to study diet-induced atherosclerosis

Golden-Syrian hamsters have been used as an animal model to assess diet-induced atherosclerosis since the early 1980s. Advantages appeared to include a low rate of endogenous cholesterol synthesis, receptor-mediated uptake of LDL cholesterol, cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity, hepatic apoB-100 and intestinal apoB-48 secretion, and uptake of the majority of LDL cholesterol via the LDL receptor pathway. Early work suggested hamsters fed high cholesterol and saturated fat diets responded similarly to humans in terms of lipoprotein metabolism and aortic lesion morphology. Recent work has not consistently replicated these findings. Reviewed was the literature related to controlled hamster feeding studies that assessed the effect of strain, background diet (non-purified, semi-purified) and dietary perturbation (cholesterol and/or fat) on plasma lipoprotein profiles and atherosclerotic lesion formation. F1B hamsters fed a non-purified cholesterol/fat-supplemented diet had more atherogenic lipoprotein profiles (nHDL-C > HDL-C) than other hamster strains or hamsters fed cholesterol/fat-supplemented semi-purified diets. However, fat type; saturated (SFA), monounsaturated or n-6 polyunsaturated (PUFA) had less of an effect on plasma lipoprotein concentrations. Cholesterol- and fish oil-supplemented semi-purified diets yielded highly variable results when compared to SFA or n-6 PUFA, which were antithetical to responses observed in humans. Dietary cholesterol and fat resulted in inconsistent effects on aortic lipid accumulation. No hamster strain was reported to consistently develop lesions regardless of background diet, dietary cholesterol or dietary fat type amount. In conclusion, at this time the Golden-Syrian hamster does not appear to be a useful model to determine the mechanism(s) of diet-induced development of atherosclerotic lesions

An Action Research Projects Impact On Teachers Leadership Attitudes And Perceptions

California Lutheran University is a regional site for the California Reading and Literature Project (CRLP). In 2010, CRLP began a two-year longitudinal study to examine the effects of participating in an institute called Reframing Teacher Leadership: Action Research Study Group had on PreK-12 teachers attitudes and perceptions. The foundation underpinning this study is the New Framework for Teacher Leadership. This study examines the impact that participating in the Action Research Group had on teachers attitudes and perceptions. Mixed-methods were used to analyze participants feedback through surveys and fieldnotes. Results confirmed the claim made by educational researchers that action research empowered teachers to have a greater stake in curriculum and instructional decisions and provided them with a framework to improve their pedagogical practices

Improving the Selection Process for Identifying Gifted Ethnic Minority Children

Poor and ethnic minority students are underrepresented in programs for the talented and gifted. As the number of public school students from ethnically diverse and low income backgrounds steadily increases, schools need to revise assessment tools that cannot effectively evaluate the academic potential of these populations. The authors examine the definition of giftedness, outline the limitations of current testing methods, and explore the role played by teachers\u27 perceptions of ethnic minority children. The authors explore as well the range of social pressures on gifted African American students which may lead them to adopt behaviors that camouflage their giftedness. Dillard and Brazil present a case study in which training improved a Caucasian teacher\u27s responsiveness to the gifted traits in one African American student. Practical suggestions to improve access to gifted education programs include new criteria of giftedness, the use of multiple selection criteria, strategies for training teachers to recognize gifted minorities, and strategies for improving parents\u27 observations of behavioral characteristics of gifted minority children

Notes on the Algal Flora of Illinois, III. Additons to the Chlorophyceae

Author Institution: Biology Department, Western Kentucky University and Botany Department, Southern Illinois UniversityThis paper lists several species of chlorophycean algae previously unreported or infrequently reported as occurring in Illinois. A total of 125 species and varieties arc enumerated, of which 27 are new records for the State. Included are first records for species of the genera Dunaliella, Chlorogonium, Platymonas, Pteromonas, Dysmorphococcus, Asterococcus, Stylosphaeridium, Elakatothrix, Geminella, Pseudendoclonium, Westella, Planktosphaeria, Eremosphaera, and Spirotaenia

Land use change detection with LANDSAT-2 data for monitoring and predicting regional water quality degradation

The author has identified the following significant results. Comparison between LANDSAT 1 and 2 imagery of Arkansas provided evidence of significant land use changes during the 1972-75 time period. Analysis of Arkansas historical water quality information has shown conclusively that whereas point source pollution generally can be detected by use of water quality data collected by state and federal agencies, sampling methodologies for nonpoint source contamination attributable to surface runoff are totally inadequate. The expensive undertaking of monitoring all nonpoint sources for numerous watersheds can be lessened by implementing LANDSAT change detection analyses

Volatile products from the interaction of KCl(g) with Cr2O3 and LaCrO3 in oxidizing environments

Cooled target collection techniques and high pressure mass spectrometric sampling were used to measure the relative rates of oxidative vaporization and to identify the volatile products emanating from samples of chromia and Mg-doped lanthanum chromite. The materials were exposed to partial pressures of KCl with and without H2O in one atmosphere of slowly flowing oxygen at elevated temperatures. Chromia and fresh samples of lanthanum chromite exhibited enhanced rates of oxidative vaporization upon exposure to these reactants. Mass spectrometric identification showed that the enhancements resulted from the heterogeneous formation of complex molecules of the type KCl sub 1,2,3 CrO3 and KOH sub l,2 CrO3. Lanthanum chromite that had undergone prolonged oxidative vaporization exhibited no enhanced oxidation upon exposure to the reactants

Androgen-independent prostate cancer cells acquire the complete steroidogenic potential of synthesizing testosterone from cholesterol.

The proliferation and differentiation of normal prostate epithelial cells depends upon the action of androgens produced by the testis. Prostate cancers retain the ability to respond to androgens in the initial stages of cancer development, but progressively become independent of exogenous androgens in advanced stages of the disease while maintaining the expression of functional androgen receptor (AR). In the present study, we have determined the potential of prostate cancer cells to synthesize androgens from cholesterol which may be involved in intracrine regulation of AR in advanced stages of the disease. Established androgen-independent prostate cancer cell lines, PC3 and DU145 cells, expressed mRNA and proteins for scavenger receptor type B1 (SRB1), steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein, cytochrome P450 cholesterol side chain cleavage (P450scc), 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3beta-HSD) and other enzymes involved in androgen biosynthesis. Expression of all these proteins and enzymes was significantly higher in the androgen-independent derivative of LNCaP prostate cancer cells (C81) than in the androgen-dependent cell line (C33). In serum-free cultures, the androgen-independent C81 cells secreted approximately 5-fold higher testosterone than C33 cells as determined in the conditioned media by immunoassays. These cells could also directly convert radioactive cholesterol into testosterone which was identified by thin layer chromatography. These results for the first time show that prostate cancer cells in advanced stages of the disease could synthesize androgens from cholesterol and hence are not dependent upon testicular and/or adrenal androgens