LSA Large Area Silicon Sheet Task Continuous Liquid Feed Czochralski Growth

A process for the continuous growth of crystals by the Czochralski method, suitable for producing single silicon crystals for use in solar cells was studied. Continuous growth is the growth of 100 Kg of single silicon crystals, 10 cm in diameter, from one container. A furnace with continuous liquid replenishment of the growth crucible, accomplished by a melt-down system and a liquid transfer mechanism, with associated automatic feedback controls was developed. Elements of the transfer system were further developed and tested during actual transfer runs. Considerable simplification of the heating element of the transfer tube was achieved. Accuracy and reliability of the temperature sensor, which is part of the power input control system for the transfer tube, was improved. Electrical and thermal effectiveness were increased while assembly of the transfer tube system was further simplified

Conduit for high temperature transfer of molten semiconductor crystalline material

A conduit for high temperature transfer of molten semiconductor crystalline material consists of a composite structure incorporating a quartz transfer tube as the innermost member, with an outer thermally insulating layer designed to serve the dual purposes of minimizing heat losses from the quartz tube and maintaining mechanical strength and rigidity of the conduit at the elevated temperatures encountered. The composite structure ensures that the molten semiconductor material only comes in contact with a material (quartz) with which it is compatible, while the outer layer structure reinforces the quartz tube, which becomes somewhat soft at molten semiconductor temperatures. To further aid in preventing cooling of the molten semiconductor, a distributed, electric resistance heater is in contact with the surface of the quartz tube over most of its length. The quartz tube has short end portions which extend through the surface of the semiconductor melt and which are lef bare of the thermal insulation. The heater is designed to provide an increased heat input per unit area in the region adjacent these end portions

Continuous replenishment of molten semiconductor in a Czochralski-process, single-crystal-growing furnace

A replenishment crucible is mounted adjacent the usual drawing crucible, from which a monocrystalline boule is drawn according to the Czochralski method. A siphon tube for molten semiconductor transfer extends from the replenishment crucible to the drawing crucible. Each crucible is enclosed within its own hermetic shell and is provided with its own heater. The siphon tube is initially filled with molten semiconductor by raising the inert atmospheric pressure in the shell surrounding the replenishment crucible above that surrounding the drawing crucible. Thereafter, adjustment of the level of molten semiconductor in the drawing crucible may be achieved by adjusting the level in either crucible, since the siphon tube will establish the same level in both crucibles. For continuous processing, solid semiconductor may be added to and melted in the replenishment crucible during the process of drawing crystals from the drawing crucible. A constant liquid level of melted semiconductor is maintained in the system by an optical monitoring device and any of several electromechanical controls of the rate of replenishment or crucible height

Reconstructions of diamond (100) and (111) surfaces: Accuracy of the Brenner potential

We present a detailed comparison of the structural predictions of the effective many-body Brenner potential with those of ab-initio studies for known reconstructions of diamond (100) and (111) surfaces. These results suggest high reliability of the Brenner potential for dealing with carbon-based structures where different types of bonding are present at the same time.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, conference paper to appear in Physica Status Solidi (a), we give a support of our recent predictions for diamond(111), [see Phys. Rev. B (Rapid Comm.), in press, cond-mat/0001397 and http://www.sci.kun.nl/tvs/carbon/meta.html

Weight Loss and Decrease of Body Mass Index during Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation Are Common Events with Limited Clinical Impact

Purpose Weight loss in cancer patients has been attributed with significant morbidity and mortality. During allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT),oral nutrition is often hampered and hence total parenteral nutrition (TPN) is necessary. We therefore investigated the course of weight during stem cell transplantation and the clinical consequences of weight change. Methods 180 consecutive patients who received allogeneic SCT between January 2010 and December 2011 at our center were analyzed for weight loss, laboratory and clinical parameters. Results During SCT, a median decrease of 6.6% of body mass index (BMI) was observed for the whole population (from 25.3 at admission to 23.6 at discharge),and a 1.6fold increase of malnutrition despite use of TPN (28.3% to 45.0%). 55.6% of patients experienced a significant weight loss of >= 5% with a median decrease of 9.2% in BMI. Serum levels of albumin, total protein and cholesterol rapidly decreased during conditioning therapy. After a median of 2.4 years, the median BMI was still only 23.4 (not different from discharge). However, we did not observe a meaningful difference in side effects and survival between patients that did or did not lose weight. Conclusion Weight loss is commonly observed during allogeneic SCT despite TPN, but the clinical consequences thereof seem limited: we observed no significant impact on patients with a decrease >= 5% in BMI on transplant outcome, side effects or survival

Verhaltens- und kognitive Aspekte exekutiver Funktionen bei Kindern im Schulalter

Vorliegende Diplomarbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Überprüfung der Qualität der, ins Deutsche übersetzten, Elternversion des Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), ein Verfahren das konstruiert wurde, um die Natur und Existenz von im Alltagsverhalten manifestierten exekutiven Funktionsdefiziten bei Kindern der Altersgruppe 5- 18 zu erfassen. Exekutivfunktionen, ein in der Wissenschaft kontrovers diskutiertes Konstrukt, setzt sich aus vielen verschiedenen Fähigkeiten des Menschen zusammen, welche zur erfolgreichen Bewältigung von wichtigen Aktivitäten des täglichen Lebens benötigt werden. Das Hauptaugenmerk der Untersuchung lag auf der Replizierbarkeit der Gütekriterien der englischsprachigen Originalversion, sowie der Beurteilung der Praxistauglichkeit besagten Verfahrens. Hierfür wurde eine „Nicht- klinische“ Stichprobe von 395 Kindern im Alter zwischen 7 und 15 Jahren aus öffentlichen Volks- und Hauptschulen, sowie einer AHS mittels einer eigens zusammengestellten Testbatterie, bestehend aus anerkannten kognitiven und neuropsychologischen Verfahren bzw. Teile aus diesen, getestet. Die Eltern der Kinder bearbeiteten zudem die übersetzte Version des BRIEF, sowie die Child Behavior Checklist 4- 18. Die Zuverlässigkeit des Verfahrens kann auf Grund der Ergebnisse der Reliabilitäts- und Itemtrennschärfeanalyse als sehr hoch eingeschätzt werden. Die von Gioia et al. (2000) postulierte Faktorenstruktur konnte jedoch sowohl in Bezug auf die Item- Skalen- Zuordnung, sowie der Zusammenfassung der Skalen zu zwei übergeordneten Indizes (BRI; MI) nicht vollständig repliziert werden. Die ökologische Validität wird aufgrund der lebensnahen Bearbeitungssituation als recht hoch eingeschätzt. Die Überprüfung der Konstruktvalidität führt zu dem Schluss, einer notwendigen Differenzierung zwischen kognitiven und behavioralen Aspekten exekutiver Funktionen, wobei sich das BRIEF angesichts der Ergebnisse vorliegender Studie lediglich zur Erfassung zweiterer eignet. Ein Einsatz in der psychologischen Praxisarbeit wird dennoch als sehr hilfreich zur Generierung zusätzlicher Informationen erachtet. Von einem vollständigen Verzicht auf die bisher zur Diagnostik exekutiver Dysfunktionen herangezogenen konventionellen Erhebungsmethoden, sollte jedoch abgesehen werden

Questioning the candidate´s aptitude for psychotherapy training. Personality profile of beginners in psychotherapy science studies and psychotherapy training – an empirical contribution to psychotherapy training research

Dass die Psychotherapie ein Beruf ist, in dem die Beziehung zwischen Hilfesuchenden und Therapeuten bzw. Therapeutinnen ein fundamentaler Wirkfaktor ist, ist im Rahmen der Wirksamkeits- und Evaluationsforschung in der Psychotherapie mittlerweile umfangreich belegt. Dies verweist implizit auf die Fragen der Feststellung der grundsätzlichen Eignung zur Ausübung des psychotherapeutischen Berufs, die von den Ausbildungseinrichtungen mittels Auswahlverfahren geprüft wird. Die Art der Auswahlverfahren steht allerdings seit langem in kritischer Fachdiskussion hinsichtlich ihrer Sinnhaftigkeit und Validität. Berichtet wird über eine empirische Studie im Rahmen der Ausbildungsforschung an über 360 Studierenden am Beginn ihres Studiums der Psychotherapiewissenschaft an der Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversität Wien, deren Persönlichkeitsprofil mittels NEO-PI-R nach Costa und McCrae in der revidierten Fassung (Ostendorf & Angleitner, 2004) und deren emotionale Kompetenz mittels EKF (Rindermann, 2009) erhoben wurde. Die untersuchte Stichprobe unterscheidet in keiner Dimension von den Normierungsstichproben. Im Hinblick auf die im österreichischem Psychotherapiegesetz festgelegte untere Altersgrenze für die Zulassung zur fachspezifischen Psychotherapieausbildung in Österreich wurden die Daten von Unter-24-Jährigen mit denen von Über-24-Jährigen verglichen, ebenso genderspezifische Auswertungen vorgenommen, die zum Teil unerwartete Ergebnisse lieferten.In psychotherapeutic work the relationship between patient and therapist is a crucial factor, as considerably proofed in research on effectiveness and evaluation of psychotherapy. This implicitly refers to the issues of assessment for the psychotherapeutic profession, where candidate´s aptitude for becoming a psychotherapist is examined by psychotherapy training institutions. Selection procedures are already on the long run in critical debate with regard to their relevance and validity. This article reports an empirical study within the frame of psychotherapy training research in a sample of more than 360 beginner students of Psychotherapy Science at Sigmund Freud PrivateUniversity Vienna. Data on personality profile were collected by using NEO-PI-R (Costa & McCrae, revised by Ostendorf & Angleitner, 2004), on emotional competences by using EKF (Rindermann, 2009). The investigated sample differs in no dimension from the standardization sample. With regard to the legal minimum age of 24 yrs. for admission to psychotherapy training in Austria, data of students younger than 24 yrs. were compared with those of students older than 24 yrs. Gender specific analysis showed some unexpected results

Chronic Pain and Sleep Disorders in Primary Care.

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain (CP) and sleep disorders (SD) are highly prevalent in the general population. However, comprehensive data regarding the prevalence and characteristics of pain and SD in primary care are rare. METHODS: From N = 578 patients N = 570 were included within 8 weeks (mean age: 50.8 ± 18.7 years, females: 289). Sociodemographic data, Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and parts of a self-report questionnaire for pain (Multidimensional German Pain Questionnaire) were recorded and additional medical information (pain medication, sleep medication) was gathered from the patient charts. RESULTS: Of the total sample, 33.2% (n = 189) suffer from CP (pain ≥ 6 months) and 29.1% (n = 166) from SD. 45.5% of the CP patients suffer from SD and 26.5% from clinical insomnia (ISI ≥ 15). SD (β = 0.872, SE = 0.191,  t = 4,572, p < 0.001, CI [0.497; 1.246]) and older age (β = 0.025, SE = 0.005, t = 5.135, p < 0.001, CI [0.015; 0.035]) were significantly associated with pain experience. CONCLUSION: About a quarter of CP patients suffer from clinical insomnia. The suggested bidirectional relation should be considered during comprehensive assessment and treatment of patients

Continuously assessed right ventricular end-diastolic volume as a marker of cardiac preload and fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated cardiac surgical patients

INTRODUCTION: Assessing cardiac preload and fluid responsiveness accurately is important when attempting to avoid unnecessary volume replacement in the critically ill patient, which is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The present clinical trial was designed to compare the reliability of continuous right ventricular end-diastolic volume (CEDV) index assessment based on rapid response thermistor technique, cardiac filling pressures (central venous pressure [CVP] and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure [PCWP]), and transesophageal echocardiographically derived evaluation of left ventricular end-diastolic area (LVEDA) index in predicting the hemodynamic response to volume replacement. METHODS: We studied 21 patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting. After induction of anesthesia, hemodynamic parameters were measured simultaneously before (T1) and 12 min after volume replacement (T2) by infusion of 6% hydroxyethyl starch 200/0.5 (7 ml/kg) at a rate of 1 ml/kg per min. RESULTS: The volume-induced increase in thermodilution-derived stroke volume index (SVI(TD)) was 10% or greater in 19 patients and under 10% in two. There was a significant correlation between changes in CEDV index and changes in SVI(TD )(r(2 )= 0.55; P < 0.01), but there were no significant correlations between changes in CVP, PCWP and LVEDA index, and changes in SVI(TD). The only variable apparently indicating fluid responsiveness was LVEDA index, the baseline value of which was weakly correlated with percentage change in SVI(TD )(r(2 )= 0.38; P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: An increased cardiac preload is more reliably reflected by CEDV index than by CVP, PCWP, or LVEDA index in this setting of preoperative cardiac surgery, but CEDV index did not reflect fluid responsiveness. The response of SVI(TD )following fluid administration was better predicted by LVEDA index than by CEDV index, CVP, or PCWP