Evaporation Cooling Using a Bionic Micro Porous Evaporation System

The temperature increase due to incident solar radiation has an adverse impact on the electrical output of photovoltaic (PV) modules. A theoretical model of the fabricated and tested bionic evaporation backside cooling was established and verified by experimental investigation. A microfluidic structure featuring micropores consists of two polymer layers attached on the backside of a PV cell model. The thermal performance of roof-mounted PV modules with rear panel air ventilation was mathematically described and extended by the cooling capabilities of the developed bionic evaporation foil. The results of experimental investigations performed in a roof equivalent test environment consisting of a wind tunnel within a climate chamber are in good accordance to the established model. Experimentally, temperature reductions at low incident solar power of less than 575 W causing an efficiency gain for up to 4.8% have been demonstrated while the model implicates an efficiency increase of 10% for real roof systems at an incident solar radiation of 1000 W.     

Holzoberflächenmodifikation mittels Atmosphärendruckplasma

Plasma surface modification of wood and wood‐based materials In this article, plasma technical, analytical and application relevant aspects of the plasma treatment of wood and wood‐based materials are presented. With the help of surface energy determinations and adhesion tests it is shown that the surfaces of wood and wood‐based materials can be changed for specific applications. Surface characteristics, which are application‐technological interesting for a later coating or adhesion, can be specifically generated with the use of air plasma. With surface energy determinations of wood and wood‐based materials, a significantly increased polar part of surface energy could be detected after a plasma treatment. Atomic force microscopy analyses of wood composites show that a plasma treatment with the use of ambient air effects an abrasion and a changed surface roughness. Tensile tests and shear tests of coated or adhered wood‐based materials with a plasma treatment show a clearly increased adherence.     

Social support and adjustment among Puerto Rican adolescent mothers: The moderating effect of acculturation.

Associations between grandmother and partner involvement and adjustment were examined among 61 Puerto Rican adolescent mothers. Results indicated that associations between grandmother involvement and adjustment were moderated by the adolescents' level of acculturation. Greater support was related to less symptomatology and parenting stress when acculturation scores were low but to more symptomatology and parenting stress when acculturation scores were high. Social support from partners was related to less symptomatology (but not parenting stress). Although coresidence with a partner was related to greater symptomatology, a significant interaction effect revealed that coresidence was associated with greater symptomatology mainly when mothers perceived their partners as providing low levels of support. Results are discussed in light of Latino cultural values and normative developmental issues. Implications for intervention strategies are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Profiling and Functional Analysis of microRNA Deregulation in Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Depicts an Anti-Invasive Role of microRNA-204 via Regulation of Their Motility

Background: Knowledge on the role of miR changes in tumor stroma for cancer progression is limited. This study aimed to investigate the role of miR dysregulation in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Methodology: CAF and normal oral fibroblasts (NOFs) were isolated from biopsies of OSCC patients and healthy individuals after informed consent and grown in 3D collagen gels. Total RNA was extracted. Global miR expression was profiled using Illumina version 2 panels. The functional impact of altered miR-204 expression in fibroblasts on their phenotype and molecular profile was investigated using mimics and inhibitors of miR-204. Further, the impact of miR-204 expression in fibroblasts on invasion of adjacent OSCC cells was assessed in 3D-organotypic co-cultures. Results: Unsupervised hierarchical clustering for global miR expression resulted in separate clusters for CAF and NOF. SAM analysis identified differential expression of twelve miRs between CAF and NOF. Modulation of miR-204 expression did not affect fibroblast cell proliferation, but resulted in changes in the motility phenotype, expression of various motility-related molecules, and invasion of the adjacent OSCC cells. 3′ UTR miR target reporter assay showed ITGA11 to be a direct target of miR-204. Conclusions: This study identifies differentially expressed miRs in stromal fibroblasts of OSCC lesions compared with normal oral mucosa and it reveals that one of the significantly downregulated miRs in CAF, miR-204, has a tumor-suppressive function through inhibition of fibroblast migration by modulating the expression of several different molecules in addition to directly targeting ITGA11.     

Influence of carbon nanotubes on epoxy resin cure reaction using different techniques: A comprehensive review

The results regarding the effect of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the cure process of epoxy resin are widespread and contradictory. Therefore, this article aims to review the key studies on the effect of carbon nanotubes related to the curing process of epoxy resin, separating them according to analysis technique. Many articles have shown that nanocomposite homogeneity and medium viscosity have great influence on the cure process. Some of them have shown that heterogeneity and high viscosity slow down the epoxy resin cure, reducing the cure reaction heat. Furthermore, the presence of chemical groups such as amine and hydroxyl can catalyze this reaction, especially in the case of homogeneous composites. This review describes briefly and straightforwardly the value of using several techniques for studying and monitoring the nanocomposite cure, among them: DSC, rheometry, DMA, Raman, FT‐IR, and luminescence spectroscopy. That importance is remarkably noticeable for studying a particular temporal reaction step, where a particular technique is more suitable than another. In this sense, one could say that luminescence spectroscopy is appropriate for studying the ending step of the cure reaction. Moreover, a great amount of information is also provided for supporting further research. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:2461–2469, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Development of strategies for recall and recognition.

40 kindergartners, 42 3rd graders, and 40 5th graders (CA's 5 yrs, 5 mo; 8 yrs, 3 mo; and 12 yrs, 4 mo, respectively) viewed 30 pictures of familiar objects, and then their free recall of the object names and their recognition of the original pictures were tested. The recognition test included pairing each picture with another similar picture of the same object. Half the Ss in each age group were prepared for recall with a strategy known to improve it in adults, and half were prepared for recognition with a strategy known to improve recognition in adults. Children encoded the stimuli differentially in accordance with the expected memory task and retrieved different stored information for each task. Both free recall and picture recognition memory improved with age. The recall strategy improved free recall performance at all ages, but the recognition strategy improved recognition performance only at the oldest age tested. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A kinematic analysis of evasive dodging movements used during food protection in the rat (Rattus norvegicus): Evidence for sex differences in movement.

Food-deprived rats (Rattus norvegicus) will protect their food by dodging away from a conspecific. A detailed kinematic analysis of these movements in adult rats shows that each sex uses sex-typical movements. Females move their snout through a greater spatial curvature, and their snout achieves a greater velocity, relative to the pelvis, than males. Males make more hindpaw steps than females and achieve a more simultaneous movement of the fore- and hindquarters. This suggests that females pivot around a point more posterior on the body than males. The finding that functionally similar patterns of movement have a sex-specific organization provides a new dimension for the study of sex differences. These differences are discussed in relation to sex differences in sex-typical behaviors, associated body structure, and neural control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measurements of radar wave speeds in polar glaciers using a down-hole radar target technique

A new technique for measuring the speed of radar waves in polar ice sheets was developed to investigate a previously reported disagreement between the permittivities of laboratory and glacier ice. The technique involves lowering a cylindrical radar target to several carefully measured depths in a borehole and measuring the travel time of a radar wave transmitted from a surface radar unit to the target in the borehole. The experiment was performed at Dome C, East Antarctica, and Dye-3, Greenland, and useable data were collected for target depths between 200 and 800 m. After computing the range to the target along a straight ray path and after correcting the travel time for delays in the radar receiver, the velocities determined from these experiments were found to be in good agreement with the velocities predicted by Robin's empirical formula. The apparent discrepancy between the permittivity of glacier ice, as measured using the radar wide-angle reflection method, and laboratory ice now seems to be due in large part to signal delay in the radar receiver that was ignored in earlier experiments.