Optimization of Photovoltaic Performance Through the Integration of Electrodynamic Dust Shield Layers

The viability of photovoltaics on the Lunar and Martian surfaces may be determined by their ability to withstand significant degradation in the Lunar and Martian environments. One of the greatest threats is posed by fine dust particles which are continually blown about the surfaces. In an effort to determine the extent of the threat, and to investigate some abatement strategies, a series of experiments were conducted outdoors and in the Moon and Mars environmental chamber at the Florida Solar Energy Center. Electrodynamic dust shield prototypes based on the electric curtain concept have been developed by our collaborators at the Kennedy Space Center [1]. These thin film layers can remove dust from surfaces and prevent dust accumulation. Several types of dust shields were designed, built and tested under high vacuum conditions and simulated lunar gravity to validate the technology for lunar exploration applications. Gallium arsenide, single crystal and polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic integrated devices were designed, built and tested under Moon and Mars environmental conditions as well as under ambient conditions. Photovoltaic efficiency measurements were performed on each individual cell with the following configurations; without an encapsulation layer, with a glass covering, and with various thin film dust shields. It was found that the PV efficiency of the hybrid systems was unaffected by these various thin film dust shields, proving that the optical transmission of light through the device is virtually uninhibited by these layers. The future goal of this project is to incorporate a photovoltaic cell as the power source for the electrodynamic dust shield system, and experimentally show the effective removal of dust obstructing any light incident on the cell, thus insuring power production is maximized over time

Family stories, public silence: Irish identity construction amongst the second-generation Irish in England

Formal narratives of history, especially that of colonial oppression, have been central to the construction of national identities in Ireland. But the Irish diasporic community in Britain has been cut off from the reproduction of these narratives, most notably by their absence from the curriculum of Catholic schools, as result of the unofficial 'denationalisation' pact agreed by the Church in the 19th century (Hickman, 1995). The reproduction of Irish identities is largely a private matter, carried out within the home through family accounts of local connections, often reinforced by extended visits to parent/s 'home' areas. Recapturing a public dimension has often become a personal quest in adulthood, 'filling in the gaps'. This paper explores constructions of narratives of nation by a key diasporic population, those with one or two Irish-born parents. It places particular emphasis on varying regional/national contexts within which such constructions take place, drawing on focus group discussions and interviews for the ESRC-funded Irish 2 Project in five locations — London, Glasgow, Manchester, Coventry and Banbury

Evaluation of recombinant adenovirus-mediated gene delivery for expression of tracer genes in catecholaminergic neurons

Selective labeling of small populations of neurons of a given phenotype for conventional neuronal tracing is difficult because tracers can be taken up by all neurons at the injection site, resulting in nonspecific labeling of unrelated pathways. To overcome these problems, genetic approaches have been developed that introduce tracer proteins as transgenes under the control of cell-type-specific promoter elements for visualization of specific neuronal pathways. The aim of this study was to explore the use of tracer gene expression for neuroanatomical tracing to chart the complex interconnections of the central nervous system. Genetic tracing methods allow for expression of tracer molecules using cell-type-specific promoters to facilitate neuronal tracing. In this study, the rat tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) promoter and an adenoviral delivery system were used to express tracers specifically in dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurons. Region-specific expression of the transgenes was then analyzed. Initially, we characterized cell-type-specific expression of GFP or RFP in cultured cell lines. We then injected an adenovirus carrying the tracer transgene into several brain regions using a stereotaxic apparatus. Three days after injection, strong GFP expression was observed in the injected site of the brain. RFP and WGA were expressed in a cell-type-specific manner in the cerebellum, locus coeruleus, and ventral tegmental regions. Our results demonstrate that selective tracing of catecholaminergic neuronal circuits is possible in the rat brain using the TH promoter and adenoviral expression

The BAH domain of Rsc2 is a histone H3 binding domain

Bromo-adjacent homology (BAH) domains are commonly found in chromatin-associated proteins and fall into two classes; Remodels the Structure of Chromatin (RSC)-like or Sir3-like. Although Sir3-like BAH domains bind nucleosomes, the binding partners of RSC-like BAH domains are currently unknown. The Rsc2 subunit of the RSC chromatin remodeling complex contains an RSC-like BAH domain and, like the Sir3-like BAH domains, we find Rsc2 BAH also interacts with nucleosomes. However, unlike Sir3-like BAH domains, we find that Rsc2 BAH can bind to recombinant purified H3 in vitro, suggesting that the mechanism of nucleosome binding is not conserved. To gain insight into the Rsc2 BAH domain, we determined its crystal structure at 2.4 Å resolution. We find that it differs substantially from Sir3-like BAH domains and lacks the motifs in these domains known to be critical for making contacts with histones. We then go on to identify a novel motif in Rsc2 BAH that is critical for efficient H3 binding in vitro and show that mutation of this motif results in defective Rsc2 function in vivo. Moreover, we find this interaction is conserved across Rsc2-related proteins. These data uncover a binding target of the Rsc2 family of BAH domains and identify a novel motif that mediates this interaction

Investigating the kinematics of mountain building in Taiwan from the spatiotemporal evolution of the foreland basin and western foothills

The Taiwanese range has resulted from the collision between the Luzon volcanic arc and the Chinese continental margin, which started about 6.5 Myr ago in the north, and has since propagated southward. The building of the range has been recorded in the spatiotemporal evolution of the foreland basin. We analyze this sedimentary record to place some constraints on the kinematics of crustal deformation. The flexure of the foreland under the load of the growing wedge started with a 1.5 Myr long phase of rapid subsidence and sedimentation, which has migrated southward over the last 3.5 Myr at a rate of 31 +10/−5 mm/yr, reflecting the structural evolution of the range and the growth of the topography during the oblique collision. Isopachs from the Toukoshan (~0 to 1.1 Ma) and Cholan (~1.1 to 3.3 Ma) formations, as well as the sedimentation rates retrieved from a well on the Pakuashan anticline, indicate that the foreland basement has been moving toward the center of mass of the orogen by ~45–50 mm/yr during the development of the basin. From there, we estimate the long-term shortening rate across the range to 39.5–44.5 mm/yr. By considering available data on the thrust faults of the foothills of central Taiwan, we show that most (if not all) the shortening across the range is accommodated by the most frontal structures, with little if any internal shortening within the wedge. The range growth appears therefore to have been essentially sustained by underplating rather than by frontal accretion. In addition, only the upper ~7 to 9 km of the underthrusted crust participates to the growth of the orogen. This requires that a significant amount of the Chinese passive margin crust is subducted beneath the Philippine Sea plate

Incarceration history and risk of HIV and hepatitis C virus acquisition among people who inject drugs: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background People who inject drugs (PWID) experience a high prevalence of incarceration and might be at high risk of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection during or after incarceration. We aimed to assess whether incarceration history elevates HIV or HCV acquisition risk among PWID. Methods In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO databases for studies in any language published from Jan 1, 2000 until June 13, 2017 assessing HIV or HCV incidence among PWID. We included studies that measured HIV or HCV incidence among community-recruited PWID. We included only studies reporting original results and excluded studies that evaluated incident infections by self-report. We contacted authors of cohort studies that met the inclusion or exclusion criteria, but that did not report on the outcomes of interest, to request data. We extracted and pooled data from the included studies using random-effects meta-analyses to quantify the associations between recent (past 3, 6, or 12 months or since last follow-up) or past incarceration and HIV or HCV acquisition (primary infection or reinfection) risk among PWID. We assessed the risk of bias of included studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Between-study heterogeneity was evaluated using the I2 statistic and the P-value for heterogeneity. Findings We included published results from 20 studies and unpublished results from 21 studies. These studies originated from Australasia, western and eastern Europe, North and Latin America, and east and southeast Asia. Recent incarceration was associated with an 81% (relative risk [RR] 1·81, 95% CI 1·40–2·34) increase in HIV acquisition risk, with moderate heterogeneity between studies (I2=63·5%; p=0·001), and a 62% (RR 1·62, 95% CI 1·28–2·05) increase in HCV acquisition risk, also with moderate heterogeneity between studies (I2=57·3%; p=0·002). Past incarceration was associated with a 25% increase in HIV (RR 1·25, 95% CI 0·94–1·65) and a 21% increase in HCV (1·21, 1·02–1·43) acquisition risk. Interpretation Incarceration is associated with substantial short-term increases in HIV and HCV acquisition risk among PWID and could be a significant driver of HCV and HIV transmission among PWID. These findings support the need for developing novel interventions to minimise the risk of HCV and HIV acquisition, including addressing structural risks associated with drug laws and excessive incarceration of PWID

Leflunomide Prevents Alveolar Fluid Clearance Inhibition by Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Rationale: Previously, we demonstrated that intranasal infection of BALB/c mice with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) resulted in an early 40% reduction in alveolar fluid clearance (AFC), an effect mediated via P2Y purinergic receptors

Mountain building in Taiwan: A thermokinematic model

The Taiwan mountain belt is classically viewed as a case example of a critical wedge growing essentially by frontal accretion and therefore submitted to distributed shortening. However, a number of observations call for a significant contribution of underplating to the growth of the orogenic wedge. We propose here a new thermokinematic model of the Taiwan mountain belt reconciling existing kinematic, thermometric and thermochronological constraints. In this model, shortening across the orogen is absorbed by slip on the most frontal faults of the foothills. Crustal thickening and exhumation are sustained by underplating beneath the easternmost portion of the wedge (Tananao Complex, TC), where the uplift rate is estimated to ~6.3 mm a^(−1), and beneath the westernmost internal region of the orogen (Hsueshan Range units, HR), where the uplift rate is estimated to ~4.2 mm a^(−1). Our model suggests that the TC units experienced a synchronous evolution along strike despite the southward propagation of the collision. It also indicates that they have reached a steady state in terms of cooling ages but not in terms of peak metamorphic temperatures. Exhumation of the HR units increases northward but has not yet reached an exhumational steady state. Presently, frontal accretion accounts for less than ~10% of the incoming flux of material into the orogen, although there is indication that it was contributing substantially more (~80%) before 4 Ma. The incoming flux of material accreted beneath the TC significantly increased 1.5 Ma ago. Our results also suggest that the flux of material accreted to the orogen corresponds to the top ~7 km of the upper crust of the underthrust Chinese margin. This indicates that a significant amount (~76%) of the underthrust material has been subducted into the mantle, probably because of the increase in density associated with metamorphism. We also show that the density distribution resulting from metamorphism within the orogenic wedge explains well the topography and the gravity field. By combining available geological data on the thermal and kinematic evolution of the wedge, our study sheds new light onto mountain building processes in Taiwan and allows for reappraising the initial structural architecture of the passive margin

From ductile to brittle: evolution and localization of deformation below a crustal detachment (Tinos, Cyclades, Greece)

International audienceThe Cycladic Oligo-Miocene detachment of Tinos island is an example of a flat-lying extensional shear zone evolving into a low-angle brittle detachment. A clear continuum of extensional strain from ductile to brittle regime is observed in the footwall. The main brittle structures marking extension are shallow- and steeply dipping normal faults associated with subvertical extensional joints and veins. The earliest brittle structures are lowangle normal faults which commonly superimpose on, and reactivate, earlier (precursory) ductile shear bands, but newly formed low-angle normal faults could also be observed. Low-angle normal faults are cut by late steeply dipping normal faults. The inversion of fault slip data collected within, and away from, the main detachment zone shows that the direction of the minimum stress axis is strictly parallel to the NE-SW stretching lineation and that the maximum principal stress axis remained subvertical during the whole brittle evolution, in agreement with the subvertical attitude of veins throughout the island. The high angle of s1 to the main detachment suggests that the detachment was weak. This observation, together with the presence of a thick layer of cataclasites below the main detachment and the kinematic continuum from ductile to brittle, leads us to propose a kinematic model for the formation of the detachment. Boudinage at the crustal scale induces formation, near the brittle-ductile transition, of ductile shear zones near the edges of boudins. Shear zones are progressively exhumed and replaced by shallowdipping cataclastic shear zones when they reached the brittle field. Most of the displacement is achieved through cataclastic flow in the upper crust and only the last increment of strain gives rise to the formation of brittle faults. The formation of the low-angle brittle detachment is thus ''prepared'' by the ductile shear zone and the cataclasites and favored by the circulation of surface-derived fluids in the shear zone

The tyranny of transnational discourse: ‘authenticity’ and Irish diasporic identity in Ireland and England

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: SCULLY, M., 2012. The tyranny of transnational discourse: 'authenticity' and Irish diasporic identity in Ireland and England. Nations and Nationalism, 18 (2), pp.191-209, which has been published in final form at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8129.2011.00534.x. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.Through the prism of current state discourses in Ireland on engagement with the Irish diaspora, this article examines the empirical merit of the related concepts of 'diaspora' and 'transnationalism'. Drawing on recent research on how Irish identity is articulated and negotiated by Irish people in England, this study suggests a worked distinction between the concepts of 'diaspora' and 'transnationalism'. Two separate discourses of authenticity are compared and contrasted: they rest on a conceptualisation of Irish identity as transnational and diasporic, respectively. I argue that knowledge of contemporary Ireland is constructed as sufficiently important that claims on diasporic Irishness are constrained by the discourse of authentic Irishness as transnational. I discuss how this affects the identity claims of second-generation Irish people, the relationship between conceptualisations of Irishness as diasporic within Ireland and 'lived' diasporic Irish identities, and implications for state discourses of diaspora engagement