Changes of solar cell parameters during damp-heat exposure

The electrical ageing of photovoltaic modules during extended damp-heat tests at different stress levels is investigated for three types of crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules with different backsheets, encapsulants and cell types. Deploying different stress levels allows determination of an equivalent stress dose function, which is a first step towards a lifetime prediction of devices. The derived humidity dose is used to characterise the degradation of power as well as that of the solar cell's equivalent circuit parameters calculated from measured current–voltage characteristics. An application of this to the samples demonstrates different modes in the degradation and thus enables better understanding of the module's underlying ageing mechanisms. The analysis of changes in the solar cell equivalent circuit parameters identified the primary contributors to the power degradation and distinguished the potential ageing mechanism for each types of module investigated in this paper. © 2016 The Authors. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. © 2016 The Authors. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.This work was supported in part by the European Commission under FP7 grant N° 262533 SOPHIA (INFRA-2010- 1.1.22_CP-CSA-Infra) and by the Research Councils UK (RCUK) under project ‘Stability and Performance of Photovoltaics (STAPP)’ (contract no: EP/H040331/1)

Elvetilførsler og direkte tilførsler til norske kystområder – 2016

Project manager Øyvind KasteRiverine inputs and direct discharges to Norwegian coastal waters in 2016 have been estimated in accordance with the OSPAR Commission’s principles. Nutrients, metals and organic pollutants have been monitored in rivers; discharges from point sources have been estimated from industry, sewage treatment plants and fish farming; and nutrient inputs from diffuse sources have been modelled. Trends in riverine inputs have been analysed, and threshold concentration levels investigated.Norwegian Environment AgencypublishedVersio

The Norwegian river monitoring programme 2021 – water quality status and trends

Prosjektleder Øyvind KasteIn the Norwegian River Monitoring Programme (in Norwegian: Elveovervåkingsprogrammet) 20 rivers along the Norwegian coast are monitored for physical and chemical parameters. This report presents the current status (2021) and long-term (19902021) trends in suspended particles, organic matter, nutrients, and metals. EU Water Framework Directive priority substances and river basin-specific pollutants (trace metals and organic pollutants) from five rivers are compared with annual average environmental quality standards (AA-EQS). The report also presents light absorbance indices for characterisation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) quality in the rivers, and high-frequency measurements of water temperature, pH, conductivity, turbidity and fluorescent DOM (fDOM) in two rivers; Storelva (southern Norway) and Målselva (northern Norway).Norwegian Environment AgencypublishedVersio

Elveovervåkningsprogrammet 2022 – vannkvalitetstilstand og ‐trender

Prosjektleder: Øyvind KasteIn the Norwegian River Monitoring Programme (in Norwegian: Elveovervåkingsprogrammet) 20 rivers along the Norwegian coast are monitored for physical and chemical parameters. This report presents the current status (2022) and long‐term (1990‐ 2022) trends in suspended particles, organic matter, nutrients, and metals. EU Water Framework Directive priority substances and river basin‐specific pollutants (trace metals and organic pollutants) from five rivers in south‐ and southwestern Norway are compared with annual average environmental quality standards (AA‐EQS). The report also presents light absorbance indices for characterisation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) quality in the rivers, and high‐frequency measurements of water temperature, pH, conductivity, turbidity and fluorescent DOM (FDOM) at four river stations.Norwegian Environment AgencypublishedVersio

The Norwegian River Monitoring Programme 2023 – water quality status and trends

Prosjektleder: Øyvind KasteTwenty rivers along the Norwegian coast are monitored for physical and chemical parameters as part of the Norwegian River Monitoring Programme. This report presents the current status (2023) and long-term (1990-2023) trends of data on suspended particles, organic matter, nutrients, and metals. Concentrations of EU Water Framework Directive priority substances and river basin-specific pollutants (trace metals and organic pollutants) from five rivers in western and middle Norway are compared with annual average environmental quality standards (AA-EQS). The report also presents light absorbance indices for characterisation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) quality in the rivers, and high-frequency measurements of water temperature, pH, conductivity, turbidity and fluorescent DOM (FDOM) at five river stations.Norwegian Environment AgencypublishedVersio

Epstein-Barr virus: clinical and epidemiological revisits and genetic basis of oncogenesis

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is classified as a member in the order herpesvirales, family herpesviridae, subfamily gammaherpesvirinae and the genus lymphocytovirus. The virus is an exclusively human pathogen and thus also termed as human herpesvirus 4 (HHV4). It was the first oncogenic virus recognized and has been incriminated in the causation of tumors of both lymphatic and epithelial nature. It was reported in some previous studies that 95% of the population worldwide are serologically positive to the virus. Clinically, EBV primary infection is almost silent, persisting as a life-long asymptomatic latent infection in B cells although it may be responsible for a transient clinical syndrome called infectious mononucleosis. Following reactivation of the virus from latency due to immunocompromised status, EBV was found to be associated with several tumors. EBV linked to oncogenesis as detected in lymphoid tumors such as Burkitt's lymphoma (BL), Hodgkin's disease (HD), post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) and T-cell lymphomas (e.g. Peripheral T-cell lymphomas; PTCL and Anaplastic large cell lymphomas; ALCL). It is also linked to epithelial tumors such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), gastric carcinomas and oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL). In vitro, EBV many studies have demonstrated its ability to transform B cells into lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). Despite these malignancies showing different clinical and epidemiological patterns when studied, genetic studies have suggested that these EBV- associated transformations were characterized generally by low level of virus gene expression with only the latent virus proteins (LVPs) upregulated in both tumors and LCLs. In this review, we summarize some clinical and epidemiological features of EBV- associated tumors. We also discuss how EBV latent genes may lead to oncogenesis in the different clinical malignancie

Asteroid (101955) Bennu in the Laboratory: Properties of the Sample Collected by OSIRIS-REx

On 24 September 2023, the NASA OSIRIS-REx mission dropped a capsule to Earth containing approximately 120 g of pristine carbonaceous regolith from Bennu. We describe the delivery and initial allocation of this asteroid sample and introduce its bulk physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties from early analyses. The regolith is very dark overall, with higher-reflectance inclusions and particles interspersed. Particle sizes range from sub-micron dust to a stone about 3.5 cm long. Millimeter-scale and larger stones typically have hummocky or angular morphologies. A subset of the stones appears mottled by brighter material that occurs as veins and crusts. Hummocky stones have the lowest densities and mottled stones have the highest. Remote sensing of the surface of Bennu detected hydrated phyllosilicates, magnetite, organic compounds, carbonates, and scarce anhydrous silicates, all of which the sample confirms. We also find sulfides, presolar grains, and, less expectedly, Na-rich phosphates, as well as other trace phases. The sample composition and mineralogy indicate substantial aqueous alteration and resemble those of Ryugu and the most chemically primitive, low-petrologic-type carbonaceous chondrites. Nevertheless, we find distinct hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopic compositions, and some of the material we analyzed is enriched in fluid-mobile elements. Our findings underscore the value of sample return, especially for low-density material that may not readily survive atmospheric entry, and lay the groundwork for more comprehensive analyses.Comment: 73 pages, 22 figure

Author Correction: Multi-ancestry genome-wide association analyses improve resolution of genes and pathways influencing lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk

Correction to: Nature Geneticshttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-023-01314-0, published online 13 March 2023. In the version of the article initially published, the sample sizes in the main text and Supplementary Tables 1 and 2 were incorrect. In the abstract, the last paragraph of the Introduction, the first paragraph of the Results, the top box in Figure 1a and the Supplementary Information, the total sample size has been corrected from 580,869 to 588,452 participants and the size of the European cohort from 468,062 to 475,645. Some of the effect sizes in Supplementary Table 14 (columns W, Z, AC, AF) had the wrong sign. There was also an error in Supplementary Table 3 where the sample size instead of the variant count was shown for EXCEED. The errors do not affect the conclusions of the study. Additionally, two acknowledgments for use of INTERVAL pQTL and Lung eQTL consortium data were omitted from the Supplementary Information. These errors have been corrected in the Supplementary Information and HTML and PDF versions of the article

The hunt for the hidden universe

"We have all heard of 'dark matter'. But what about dark galaxies, dark planets - even dark people?" The new holy grail of physics (3.5 pages