Gardens, Religion and Clerical By-Employments: the Dual Careers of Hugh Hall, Priest-Gardener of the West Midlands

Hugh Hall was a highly sought-after gardener in late sixteenth century England. He worked in the Midlands, specifically in Worcestershire, Warwickshire, and Northamptonshire, and mostly for Catholic families. Hall was a Catholic priest who resigned his parish living after the Elizabethan Religious Settlement, but continued to perform clerical duties such as saying Mass and hearing confession alongside his second vocation as a gardener. Indeed, his esteem as a gardener and, later, surveyor of works was strong enough that he attracted Protestant clients like Lord Burghley and Sir Christopher Hatton despite his adherence to Catholicism. Hall\u27s two vocations shaped his identity: his sense of self, his manhood, and how others perceived him. Hall\u27s written garden advice, A priestes discourse of gardeninge applied to a spirituall understandinge, which exists only in manuscript form, exemplifies the fusion of gardening and spiritual life, articulates Hall\u27s conceptions of manhood, and offers new perspective on how religion intersects with late Renaissance English gardens

7.2% efficient polycrystalline silicon photoelectrode

After etching, n-type cast polycrystalline silicon photoanodes immersed in a solution of methanol and a substituted ferrocene reagent exhibit photoelectrode efficiencies of 7.2%±0.7% under simulated AM2 illumination. Scanning laser spot data indicate that the grain boundaries are active; however, the semiconductor/liquid contact does not display the severe shunting effects which are observed at a polycrystalline Si/Pt Schottky barrier. Evidence for an interfacial oxide on the operating polycrystalline Si photoanode is presented. Some losses in short circuit current can be ascribed to bulk semiconductor properties; however, despite these losses, photoanodes fabricated from polycrystalline substrates exhibit efficiencies comparable to those of single crystal material. Two major conclusions of our studies are that improved photoelectrode behavior in the polycrystalline silicon/methanol system will primarily result from changes in bulk electrode properties and from grain boundary passivation, and that Fermi level pinning by surface states does not prevent the design of efficient silicon-based liquid junctions

A 14% efficient nonaqueous semiconductor/liquid junction solar cell

We describe the most efficient semiconductor/liquid junction solar cell reported to date. Under W‐halogen (ELH) illumination, the device is a 14% efficient two‐electrode solar cell fabricated from an n‐type silicon photoanode in contact with a nonaqueous electrolyte solution. The cell′s central feature is an ultrathin electrolyte layer which simultaneously reduces losses which result from electrode polarization, electrolyte light absorption, and electrolyte resistance. The thin electrolyte layer also eliminates the need for forced convection of the redox couple and allows for precise control over the amount of water (and other electrolyte impurities) exposed to the semiconductor. After one month of continuous operation under ELH light at 100 mW/cm^2, which corresponds to the passage of over 70 000 C/cm^2, thin‐layer cells retained over 90% of their efficiency. In addition, when made with Wacker Silso cast polycrystalline Si, cells yield an efficiency of 9.8% under simulated AMl illumination. The thin‐layer cells employ no external compensation yet surpass their corresponding experimental (three‐electrode) predecessors in efficiency

Studies in the use of cloud type statistics in mission simulation

A study to further improve NASA's global cloud statistics for mission simulation is reported. Regional homogeneity in cloud types was examined; most of the original region boundaries defined for cloud cover amount in previous studies were supported by the statistics on cloud types and the number of cloud layers. Conditionality in cloud statistics was also examined with special emphasis on temporal and spatial dependencies, and cloud type interdependence. Temporal conditionality was found up to 12 hours, and spatial conditionality up to 200 miles; the diurnal cycle in convective cloudiness was clearly evident. As expected, the joint occurrence of different cloud types reflected the dynamic processes which form the clouds. Other phases of the study improved the cloud type statistics for several region and proposed a mission simulation scheme combining the 4-dimensional atmospheric model, sponsored by MSFC, with the global cloud model

Determinisitic Writing and Control of the Dark Exciton Spin using Short Single Optical Pulses

We demonstrate that the quantum dot-confined dark exciton forms a long-lived integer spin solid state qubit which can be deterministically on-demand initiated in a pure state by one optical pulse. Moreover, we show that this qubit can be fully controlled using short optical pulses, which are several orders of magnitude shorter than the life and coherence times of the qubit. Our demonstrations do not require an externally applied magnetic field and they establish that the quantum dot-confined dark exciton forms an excellent solid state matter qubit with some advantages over the half-integer spin qubits such as the confined electron and hole, separately. Since quantum dots are semiconductor nanostructures that allow integration of electronic and photonic components, the dark exciton may have important implications on implementations of quantum technologies consisting of semiconductor qubits.Comment: Added two authors, minor edits to figure captions, expanded discussion of dark exciton eigenstate

Developing a Cognition Scale Using Items from Three Federally Mandated Assessments in Post-Acute Care

The purpose of this work is to create a cognitive measure detecting change in cognitive deficits for post-acute stroke patients. Many individuals with stroke experience cognitive impairment contributing to ongoing disability. Identifying change in cognitive skills in response to treatment is important for demonstrating the value of rehabilitation services. Yet, the ability of federally mandated post-acute assessments to detect change has not been described. A total of 147 stroke patients in post-acute care receiving rehabilitation services were assessed using 26 cognition items from the federally mandated assessments. Rasch analysis, using the partial credit model, was conducted to evaluate the construct validity of these items. The standardized effect size (ES), response mean (SRM), and minimal detectable change (MDC) were calculated using MedCalc. Six items created a logical hierarchy for the cognition construct. Two items--long-term and short-term memory—represented the easiest and hardest items, respectively. The remaining items are problem-solving, memory, decision-making, and cognitive function. Evidence of good construct validity: Eigenvalue=2.13, unexplained variance in first contrast=7.5%, and person separation reliability of 0.87, person strata=3.8. Evidence of person-item alignment: adequate person fit, moderate ceiling effect, and person mean=1.53. Evidence of responsiveness: improvers (n=74) large ES 0.72, large SRM 1.19, 10% of patients made a change beyond the MDC. The six identified cognitive items from the federally mandated post-acute care assessment tools represents a continuum of cognitive performance areas, from foundational arousal skill through higher level problem-solving. Advancing meaningful, precise cognitive assessment will help identify effective occupation-based cognitive skill training strategies for stroke survivors