New and noteworthy bird records from the island of Seram, Maluku

A number of interesting bird records were made by a team of ten biologists from Cambridge University (UK), Universitas Pattimura (Ambon, Maluku), and Wetlands International, (Indonesia), during a three month research and conservation project in 1996 in the proposed Cagar Alam (Nature Reserve) of Wae Bula in northeast Seram. This paper documents five species previously unrecorded on the island and provides information concerning several species of interest in terms of distribution or conservation. Seram still holds large tracts of unexplored and unsurveyed forest which are likely to hold important populations of threatened and endemic species; future visitors are encouraged to extend our limited knowledge of the avifauna of this island

Towards the production of radiotherapy treatment shells on 3D printers using data derived from DICOM CT and MRI: preclinical feasibility studies

Background: Immobilisation for patients undergoing brain or head and neck radiotherapy is achieved using perspex or thermoplastic devices that require direct moulding to patient anatomy. The mould room visit can be distressing for patients and the shells do not always fit perfectly. In addition the mould room process can be time consuming. With recent developments in three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies comes the potential to generate a treatment shell directly from a computer model of a patient. Typically, a patient requiring radiotherapy treatment will have had a computed tomography (CT) scan and if a computer model of a shell could be obtained directly from the CT data it would reduce patient distress, reduce visits, obtain a close fitting shell and possibly enable the patient to start their radiotherapy treatment more quickly. Purpose: This paper focuses on the first stage of generating the front part of the shell and investigates the dosimetric properties of the materials to show the feasibility of 3D printer materials for the production of a radiotherapy treatment shell. Materials and methods: Computer algorithms are used to segment the surface of the patient’s head from CT and MRI datasets. After segmentation approaches are used to construct a 3D model suitable for printing on a 3D printer. To ensure that 3D printing is feasible the properties of a set of 3D printing materials are tested. Conclusions: The majority of the possible candidate 3D printing materials tested result in very similar attenuation of a therapeutic radiotherapy beam as the Orfit soft-drape masks currently in use in many UK radiotherapy centres. The costs involved in 3D printing are reducing and the applications to medicine are becoming more widely adopted. In this paper we show that 3D printing of bespoke radiotherapy masks is feasible and warrants further investigation

Charting human subcortical maturation across the adult lifespan with in vivo 7 T MRI

The human subcortex comprises hundreds of unique structures. Subcortical functioning is crucial for behavior, and disrupted function is observed in common neurodegenerative diseases. Despite their importance, human subcortical structures continue to be difficult to study in vivo. Here we provide a detailed account of 17 prominent subcortical structures and ventricles, describing their approximate iron and myelin contents, morphometry, and their age-related changes across the normal adult lifespan. The results provide compelling insights into the heterogeneity and intricate age-related alterations of these structures. They also show that the locations of many structures shift across the lifespan, which is of direct relevance for the use of standard magnetic resonance imaging atlases. The results further our understanding of subcortical morphometry and neuroimaging properties, and of normal aging processes which ultimately can improve our understanding of neurodegeneration

An infra-red reflecting optical coating for solar cover glass

A major problem with silicon solar cells is that they lose efficiency with increased operating temperature, at a rate of about 0.5% per 1◦C increase. This causes a significant reduction in power output, particularly in hot climates. A solution in the form of an optical coating is presented, which reflects infrared (IR) radiation to limit the module temperature increase. The optical coating is also anti-reflecting (AR) in the visible wavelength range, increasing the amount of light reaching the cell absorber. Modelling results show that the weighted average reflection (WAR) is reduced to 1.22% in the wavelength range associated with the band gap of silicon. The optical coating then reflects up to 70% of the infra-red. Although the model presented is based on silicon, the coating design can be modified to work with other photovoltaic technologies. The coating design uses only 4 layers and can be deposited using conventional high throughput magnetron sputtering systems already familiar to glass manufacturers. Preliminary work on optimising the coating deposition parameters is also presented here alongside modelling results. Deployment of the infra-red reflecting optical coating on solar cover glass represents a potential breakthrough in solar technology and will result in a significant increase in the power output of photovoltaic modules.<br

When does food refusal require professional intervention?

Food refusal can have the potential to lead to nutritional deficiencies, which increases the risk of a variety of communicable and non-communicable diseases. Deciding when food refusal requires professional intervention is complicated by the fact that there is a natural and appropriate stage in a child's development that is characterised by increased levels of rejection of both previously accepted and novel food items. Therefore, choosing to intervene is difficult, which if handled badly can lead to further food refusal and an even more limited diet. Food refusal is often based on individual preferences; however, it can also be defined through pathological behaviours that require psychological intervention. This paper presents and discusses several different types of food refusal behaviours; these are learningdependent, those that are related to a medical complication, selective food refusal, fear-based food refusal and appetiteawareness-autonomy-based food refusal. This paper describes the behaviours and characteristics that are often associated with each; however, emphasis is placed on the possibility that these different types of food refusal can often be co-morbid. The decision to offer professional intervention to the child and their family should be a holistic process based on the level of medical or psychological distress resulting from the food refusal

Development of ZnTe as a back contact material for thin film cadmium telluride solar cells

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is high-efficiency commercialised thin film photovoltaic technology. However, developing a stable low-resistivity back contact to the CdTe solar cells is still an issue. High work function and low level of doping of this material don't allow to create an ohmic contact with metals directly. Copper is commonly used to lower the back contact barrier in CdTe solar cells, but an excessive amount of copper diffusing through the cell is harmful for the device performance and stability. In this work a copper-doped ZnTe (ZnTe:Cu) buffer layer was incorporated in between CdTe and gold metal contact by high-rate pulsed DC magnetron sputtering. The back contact was then activated by rapid thermal processing (RTP) resulting in spectacular improvement in key device performance indicators, open circuit voltage (VOC) and fill factor (FF)