Low cost silicon solar array project large area silicon sheet task: Silicon web process development

Growth configurations were developed which produced crystals having low residual stress levels. The properties of a 106 mm diameter round crucible were evaluated and it was found that this design had greatly enhanced temperature fluctuations arising from convection in the melt. Thermal modeling efforts were directed to developing finite element models of the 106 mm round crucible and an elongated susceptor/crucible configuration. Also, the thermal model for the heat loss modes from the dendritic web was examined for guidance in reducing the thermal stress in the web. An economic analysis was prepared to evaluate the silicon web process in relation to price goals

Silicon web process development

Thirty-five (35) furnace runs were carried out during this quarter, of which 25 produced a total of 120 web crystals. The two main thermal models for the dendritic growth process were completed and are being used to assist the design of the thermal geometry of the web growth apparatus. The first model, a finite element representation of the susceptor and crucible, was refined to give greater precision and resolution in the critical central region of the melt. The second thermal model, which describes the dissipation of the latent heat to generate thickness-velocity data, was completed. Dendritic web samples were fabricated into solar cells using a standard configuration and a standard process for a N(+) -P-P(+) configuration. The detailed engineering design was completed for a new dendritic web growth facility of greater width capability than previous facilities

Lifelongα-tocopherol supplementation increases the median life span of C57BL/6 mice in the cold but has only minor effects on oxidative damage

The effects of dietary antioxidant supplementation on oxidative stress and life span are confused. We maintained C57BL/6 mice at 7 ± 2°C and supplemented their diet with α-tocopherol from 4 months of age. Supplementation significantly increased (p = 0.042) median life span by 15% (785 days, n = 44) relative to unsupplemented controls (682 days, n = 43) and also increased maximum life span (oldest 10%, p = 0.028). No sex or sex by treatment interaction effects were observed on life span, with treatment having no effect on resting or daily metabolic rate. Lymphocyte and hepatocyte oxidative DNA damage and hepatic lipid peroxidation were unaffected by supplementation, but hepatic oxidative DNA damage increased with age. Using a cDNA macroarray, genes associated with xenobiotic metabolism were significantly upregulated in the livers of female mice at 6 months of age (2 months supplementation). At 22 months of age (18 months supplementation) this response had largely abated, but various genes linked to the p21 signaling pathway were upregulated at this time. We suggest that α-tocopherol may initially be metabolized as a xenobiotic, potentially explaining why previous studies observe a life span extension generally when lifelong supplementation is initiated early in life. The absence of any significant effect on oxidative damage suggests that the life span extension observed was not mediated via any antioxidant properties of α-tocopherol. We propose that the life span extension observed following α-tocopherol supplementation may be mediated via upregulation of cytochrome p450 genes after 2 months of supplementation and/or upregulation of p21 signaling genes after 18 months of supplementation. However, these signaling pathways now require further investigation to establish their exact role in life span extension following α-tocopherol supplementation

Rocket calibration of the Nimbus 6 solar constant measurements

Total solar irradiance was observed simultaneously outside the earth's atmosphere by three types of absolute cavity radiometers and duplicates of four of the Nimbus 6 Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) solar channels in a June 1976 sounding rocket experiment. The preliminary average solar constant result from the cavity radiometers is 1367 Wm (-2) with an uncertainty of less than + or - 0.5% in S.I. units. The duplicate ERB channel 3 on the rocket gave a value of 1389 Wm (-2) which agreed exactly with the Nimbus 6 ERB channel 3 measurement made simultaneously with the rocket flight

Evaluation of the cobas Cdiff Test for Detection of Toxigenic Clostridium difficile in Stool Samples

Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are reliable tools for the detection of toxigenic Clostridium difficile from unformed (liquid or soft) stool samples. The objective of this study was to evaluate performance of the cobas Cdiff test on the cobas 4800 system using prospectively collected stool specimens from patients suspected of having C. difficile infection (CDI). The performance of the cobas Cdiff test was compared to the results of combined direct and broth-enriched toxigenic culture methods in a large, multicenter clinical trial. Additional discrepancy analysis was performed by using the Xpert C. difficile Epi test. Sample storage was evaluated by using contrived and fresh samples before and after storage at -20°C. Testing was performed on samples from 683 subjects (306 males and 377 females); 113 (16.5%) of 683 subjects were positive for toxigenic C. difficile by direct toxigenic culture, and 141 of 682 subjects were positive by using the combined direct and enriched toxigenic culture method (reference method), for a prevalence rate of 20.7%. The sensitivity and specificity of the cobas Cdiff test compared to the combined direct and enriched culture method were 92.9% (131/141; 95% confidence interval [CI], 87.4% to 96.1%) and 98.7% (534/541; 95% CI, 97.4% to 99.4%), respectively. Discrepancy analysis using results for retested samples from a second NAAT (Xpert C. difficile/Epi test; Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA) found no false-negative and 4 false-positive cobas Cdiff test results. There was no difference in positive and negative results in comparisons of fresh and stored samples. These results support the use of the cobas Cdiff test as a robust aid in the diagnosis of CDI

Nuclei in Strongly Magnetised Neutron Star Crusts

We discuss the ground state properties of matter in outer and inner crusts of neutron stars under the influence of strong magnetic fields. In particular, we demonstrate the effects of Landau quantization of electrons on compositions of neutron star crusts. First we revisit the sequence of nuclei and the equation of state of the outer crust adopting the Baym, Pethick and Sutherland (BPS) model in the presence of strong magnetic fields and most recent versions of the theoretical and experimental nuclear mass tables. Next we deal with nuclei in the inner crust. Nuclei which are arranged in a lattice, are immersed in a nucleonic gas as well as a uniform background of electrons in the inner crust. The Wigner-Seitz approximation is adopted in this calculation and each lattice volume is replaced by a spherical cell. The coexistence of two phases of nuclear matter - liquid and gas, is considered in this case. We obtain the equilibrium nucleus corresponding to each baryon density by minimizing the free energy of the cell. We perform this calculation using Skyrme nucleon-nucleon interaction with different parameter sets. We find nuclei with larger mass and charge numbers in the inner crust in the presence of strong magnetic fields than those of the zero field case for all nucleon-nucleon interactions considered here. However, SLy4 interaction has dramatic effects on the proton fraction as well as masses and charges of nuclei. This may be attributed to the behaviour of symmetry energy with density in the sub-saturation density regime. Further we discuss the implications of our results to shear mode oscillations of magnetars.Comment: presented in "Exciting Physics Symposium" held in Makutsi, South Africa in November, 2011 and to be published in a book by Springer Verla

An unfolding signifier: London's Baltic Exchange in Tallinn

In the summer of 2007 an unusual cargo arrived at Muuga and Paldiski harbors outside Tallinn. It consisted of nearly 50 containers holding over 1,000 tons of building material ranging from marble columns, staircases and fireplaces, to sculpted allegorical figures, wooden paneling and old-fashioned telephone booths. They were once part of the Baltic Exchange in the City of London. Soon they will become facets of the landscape of Tallinn. The following article charts this remarkable story and deploys this fragmented monument to analyze three issues relating to the Estonian capital: the relocation of the ‘Bronze Soldier’, the demolition of the Sakala Culture Center, and Tallinn’s future role as European Cultural Capital in 2011

Planar and Poly-Arc Lombardi Drawings

In Lombardi drawings of graphs, edges are represented as circular arcs, and the edges incident on vertices have perfect angular resolution. However, not every graph has a Lombardi drawing, and not every planar graph has a planar Lombardi drawing. We introduce k-Lombardi drawings, in which each edge may be drawn with k circular arcs, noting that every graph has a smooth 2-Lombardi drawing. We show that every planar graph has a smooth planar 3-Lombardi drawing and further investigate topics connecting planarity and Lombardi drawings.Comment: Expanded version of paper appearing in the 19th International Symposium on Graph Drawing (GD 2011). 16 pages, 8 figure

Implementation of routine outcome measurement in child and adolescent mental health services in the United Kingdom: a critical perspective

The aim of this commentary is to provide an overview of clinical outcome measures that are currently recommended for use in UK Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), focusing on measures that are applicable across a wide range of conditions with established validity and reliability, or innovative in their design. We also provide an overview of the barriers and drivers to the use of Routine Outcome Measurement (ROM) in clinical practice

Factors associated with quality of services for marginalized groups with mental health problems in 14 European countries

This research was financially supported by DG-Sanco (contract: 800197; 2007-2010). The authors would like to thank all of the professionals and services who participated in the PROMO assessment of services. A PhD grant from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia–Portugal (SFRH/BD/66388/2009) to the first author is acknowledged