Koinonia

In This IssueVocation and an Integrated Christian Worldview: Reprint from Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul by J.P. Moreland SWOT, MBO, and Other Life Perils, James Kanning Contemporary Christian Music Challenges Activity Directors to Assess Campus Spiritual Climate, Melissa J. Schermer In The FieldAnticipatory Consciousness: A Learning Paradigm for College Students, Eileen Hulme Around CampusUsing Technology in Wellness Programming, Kadi Cole Regular FeaturesPresident\u27s Corner Editor\u27s Disk Annual Conference: Sunny Southern California Welcomes ACSD 1999 News from the Regions: Spotlight on the Lake Region Coalition of Christian College Activities (CoCCA): Hot Ideas Book Review: Virtual Faith: The Irreverent Spiritual Quest of Generation X Perspective: Tales of a First Year RDhttps://pillars.taylor.edu/acsd_koinonia/1030/thumbnail.jp

Electron radiation–induced degradation of GaAs solar cells with different architectures

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Moral enhancement: do means matter morally?

One of the reasons why moral enhancement may be controversial, is because the advantages of moral enhancement may fall upon society rather than on those who are enhanced. If directed at individuals with certain counter-moral traits it may have direct societal benefits by lowering immoral behavior and increasing public safety, but it is not directly clear if this also benefits the individual in question. In this paper, we will discuss what we consider to be moral enhancement, how different means may be used to achieve it and whether the means we employ to reach moral enhancement matter morally. Are certain means to achieve moral enhancement wrong in themselves? Are certain means to achieve moral enhancement better than others, and if so, why? More specifically, we will investigate whether the difference between direct and indirect moral enhancement matters morally. Is it the case that indirect means are morally preferable to direct means of moral enhancement and can we indeed pinpoint relevant intrinsic, moral differences between both? We argue that the distinction between direct and indirect means is indeed morally relevant, but only insofar as it tracks an underlying distinction between active and passive interventions. Although passive interventions can be ethical provided specific safeguards are put in place, these interventions exhibit a greater potential to compromise autonomy and disrupt identity

Proton irradiation induced GaAs solar cell performance degradation simulations using a physics-based model

In this study a recently developed physics-based model to describe the performance degradation of GaAs solar cells upon electron irradiation is applied to analyze the effects of proton irradiation. For this purpose GaAs solar cells with significantly different architectures are subjected to a range of proton irradiation fluences up to 5×1012 H+/cm2. The resulting J−V and EQE characteristics of the cells are measured and compared with the simulations from the model. The model requires individual degradation constants for the SRH lifetimes and the surface recombination velocities as an input. In this study these constants were obtained from the recently determined associated constants for electron irradiation using the particles non-ionizing energy loss (NIEL) values for conversion. The good fit between the simulated and experimentally obtained results demonstrate that this is a valid approach. Moreover, it suggests that the physics based model allows for a good prediction of GaAs cell performance under particle irradiation of any kind independent of the particular cell architecture as long as the layer thicknesses and doping levels are known. In addition the applied proton irradiation levels in this study were not found to induce additional Cu-related degradation in the investigated thin-film cells, indicating that the use of copper foil as a convenient carrier and rear contact does not require reconsideration for thin-film cells intended for space applications

Early-Phase Clinical Trials of Bio-Artificial Organ Technology:A Systematic Review of Ethical Issues

Regenerative medicine has emerged as a novel alternative solution to organ failure which circumvents the issue of organ shortage. In preclinical research settings bio-artificial organs are being developed. It is anticipated that eventually it will be possible to launch first-in-human transplantation trials to test safety and efficacy in human recipients. In early-phase transplantation trials, however, research participants could be exposed to serious risks, such as toxicity, infections and tumorigenesis. So far, there is no ethical guidance for the safe and responsible design and conduct of early-phase clinical trials of bio-artificial organs. Therefore, research ethics review committees will need to look to related adjacent fields of research, including for example cell-based therapy, for guidance. In this systematic review, we examined the literature on early-phase clinical trials in these adjacent fields and undertook a thematic analysis of relevant ethical points to consider for early-phase clinical trials of transplantable bio-artificial organs. Six themes were identified: cell source, risk-benefit assessment, patient selection, trial design, informed consent, and oversight and accountability. Further empirical research is needed to provide insight in patient perspectives, as this may serve as valuable input in determining the conditions for ethically responsible and acceptable early clinical development of bio-artificial organs

Increased Performance of Thin-film GaAs Solar Cells with Improved Rear Interface Reflectivity

The highest efficiencies in single-junction solar cells are obtained with devices based on GaAs. As this material is reaching the limit in material quality, the optimization of the design of the cell becomes more important. In this study we implement a patterning technique to the bottom contact layer of thin-film GaAs solar cells that increases the reflectance of photons to the active layers. Both shallow junction and deep junction devices were evaluated, and for deep junction cells, both the short circuit current and the open circuit voltage increase with the reflectance. The radiative saturation current density also decreases, indicating increased photon recycling. Detailed model simulations are performed to further evaluate the mechanisms leading to the improved performance of the deep junction design. Based on the same model, the possibilities for further improvements utilizing the deep junction are also identified

Limiting mechanisms for photon recycling in thin-film GaAs solar cells

Photon recycling mechanisms in single junction thin-film GaAs solar cells are evaluated in this study. Modelling supported by experimentally obtained results is used in order to correlate the reflectance of the cell's rear layers, the photon recycling probability, and the solar cell performance. Solar cells with different top and bottom metallization configurations are produced, and their performance is analyzed from the optical and electrical point of view. It is shown that the photon recycling probability increases with the rear mirror reflectance and solar cell thickness, which results in the increase of the devices open circuit voltage. However, the front grid coverage, usually disregarded in rear mirror focused studies, strongly reduces the photon recycling probability. Furthermore, perimeter and interface recombination hinder the internal radiative efficiency of the solar cells, preventing further increase of the devices' open circuit voltage as a result of improvements of the rear mirror reflectivity. In order to exploit the significant benefit of increased photon recycling probability to the solar cell performance, these limiting mechanisms need to be properly addressed

Unidirectional light emission from low-index polymer microlasers

We report on experiments with deformed polymer microlasers that have a low refractive index and exhibit unidirectional light emission. We demonstrate that the highly directional emission is due to transport of light rays along the unstable manifold of the chaotic saddle in phase space. Experiments, ray-tracing simulations, and mode calculations show very good agreement.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Waveguiding and photoluminescence in Er³⁺-doped Ta₂O₅ planar waveguides

The optimization of erbium-doped Ta2O5 thin film waveguides deposited by magnetron sputtering onto thermally oxidized silicon wafer is described. Optical constants of the film were determined by ellipsometry. For the slab waveguides, background losses below 0.4dB/cm at 633nm have been obtained before post-annealing. The samples, when pumped at 980nm yielded abroad photoluminescence spectrum (FWHM ~50 nm) centred at 1534nm, corresponding to 4 I 13/2 to the 4 I 15/2 transition of Er3+ ion. The samples were annealed up to 600 °C and both photoluminescence power and fluorescence lifetime increase with post-annealing temperature and a fluorescence lifetime of 2.4ms was achieved, yielding promising results for compact waveguide amplifier

Comprehensive self management and routine monitoring in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients in general practice: randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVE To assess the long term effects of two different modes of disease management (comprehensive self management and routine monitoring) on quality of life (primary objective), frequency and patients' management of exacerbations, and self efficacy (secondary objectives) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in general practice. DESIGN 24 month, multicentre, investigator blinded, three arm, pragmatic, randomised controlled trial. SETTING 15 general practices in the eastern part of the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS Patients with COPD confirmed by spirometry and treated in general practice. Patients with very severe COPD or treated by a respiratory physician were excluded. INTERVENTIONS A comprehensive self management programme as an adjunct to usual care, consisting of four tailored sessions with ongoing telephone support by a practice nurse; routine monitoring as an adjunct to usual care, consisting of 2-4 structured consultations a year with a practice nurse; or usual care alone (contacts with the general practitioner at the patients' own initiative). OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome was the change in COPD specific quality of life at 24 months as measured with the chronic respiratory questionnaire total score. Secondary outcomes were chronic respiratory questionnaire domain scores, frequency and patients' management of exacerbations measured with the Nijmegen telephonic exacerbation assessment system, and self efficacy measured with the COPD self-efficacy scale. RESULTS 165 patients were allocated to self management (n=55), routine monitoring (n=55), or usual care alone (n=55). At 24 months, adjusted treatment differences between the three groups in mean chronic respiratory questionnaire total score were not significant. Secondary outcomes did not differ, except for exacerbation management. Compared with usual care, more exacerbations in the self management group were managed with bronchodilators (odds ratio 2.81, 95% confidence interval 1.16 to 6.82) and with prednisolone, antibiotics, or both (3.98, 1.10 to 15.58). CONCLUSIONS Comprehensive self management or routine monitoring did not show long term benefits in terms of quality of life or self efficacy over usual care alone in COPD patients in general practice. Patients in the self management group seemed to be more capable of appropriately managing exacerbations than did those in the usual care group. TRIAL REGISTRATION Clinical trials NCT00128765.This study was funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) and Partners in Care Solutions for COPD (PICASSO). The funding sources had no role in the design, conduct, or reporting of the stud