Monolithically-integrated BiVO4/p+-n GaAs1-xPx tandem photoanodes capable of unassisted solar water splitting

Monolithically-integrated tandem photoanodes were fabricated on substrates consisting of epitaxial n-GaAs_1-xP_x (x ? 0.32) grown on n⁺-GaAs wafers. A p⁺-n junction photovoltaic (PV) cell was first formed by zinc diffusion into the n-GaAs_0.68P_0.32 from a deposited ZnO coating. After diffusion the ZnO serves as a transparent electrical contact to the resulting p⁺-GaAs_0.68P_0.32 surface layer. Transparent, conducting SnO₂:F provides chemical and mechanical protection for the ZnO and the underlying PV cell, and it electrically connects this cell to a top BiVO₄ photocatalyst layer. In some photoanodes, a WO₃ thin film was interposed between the SnO₂:F and BiVO₄. All oxide coatings were produced by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis except WO₃, which was spin coated. Unassisted (unbiased) solar water splitting was achieved, with a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency approaching 2%, without addition of any co-catalyst to the BiVO₄ surface. This work can provide insights to other researchers regarding scalable, low cost approaches for the planar monolithic integration of oxide photoanode materials with PV cells to create new tandem devices.     

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts (TIPS) in children

The transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt procedure is an accepted treatment for adults with complications of portal hypertension. We performed a retrospective review of all pediatric TIPS placements performed at the University of California, San Francisco between 1990 and 1996. Twelve procedures were attempted in nine children, with a mean age (+/- SD) of 9.4 +/- 3.9 years (range, 5 to 15 years) and a mean weight of 31 +/- 18 kg (range, 16 to 70 kg). The indications for TIPS placement were portal hypertension complicated by chronic variceal hemorrhage not controlled with sclerotherapy (n = 7) and hypersplenism with thrombocytopenia (n = 2). TIPS placement was successfully completed initially in seven of nine (78%) patients. Unfavorable vascular anatomy was the cause of failure in two cases. The seven patients who underwent successful TIPS placement were followed up for an average of 136 days (range, 1 to 800 days); two still have patent shunts, three underwent liver transplantation, one had a splenorenal shunt after stenosis, and one died of underlying liver disease. Variceal bleeding was controlled in four of five patients who successfully underwent TIPS placement. Shunt occlusion occurred in four patients; patency was restored by transjugular shunt revision in three, and a splenorenal shunt was performed in one.     

Prevention of violence

Primary care physicians can easily incorporate efforts toward the primary and secondary prevention of family violence into their practices. By designing a preventive effort using the phases of the family life cycle, a developmentally appropriate system of prevention is created. The anticipatory guidance at each (annual) visit acknowledges family transitions and assures the family that abuse is a health issue and that the physician is a resource for issues of violence prevention. Using the FLC, the first phase is Coupling, when there is a risk of partner violence that continues as long as there is a partnership. Pregnancy and childbirth bring concerns of child neglect and battery. Older children are at additional risk for child sexual abuse. As families age, risks develop for elder abuse, too. The regular discussion of these issues raises the awareness that the potential for family violence continues over the life span and allows the physician opportunities to assess the risk of violence in that family and make appropriate preventive referrals. Primary care physicians are optimally positioned to address violence and its prevention in the office: they know and care for family units over time. Physicians are respected and trusted advisors who can become effective in preventing violence.     

Certain nonlinear partially observable stochastic optimal controlproblems with explicit control laws equivalent to LEQG/LQG problems

This paper is concerned with partially observed stochastic optimal control problems when nonlinearities enter the dynamics of the unobservable state and the observations as gradients of potential functions. Explicit representations for the information state are derived in terms of a finite number of sufficient statistics. Consequently, the partially observed problem is recast as one of complete information with a new state generated by a modified version of the Kalman filter. When the terminal cost is quadratic in the unobservable state and includes the integral of the nonlinearities, the optimal control laws are explicitly computed, similar to linear-exponential-quadratic-Gaussian (LEQG) and linear-quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) tracking problems. The results are applicable to filtering and control of Hamiltonian systems     

The CD40-CD154 system in anti-infective host defense

Research in the past few years has documented significant advances in our understanding of the CD40-CD40 ligand (CD154) system in diverse immune functions. This system influences many T cell mediated inflammatory immune responses and effector functions, unmasking a previously unexpected role for CD40-CD154 in cell mediated immunity. Manipulation of CD154 in animal models of infection by the use of CD154-deficient mice or anti-CD154 antibodies has shown the importance of this system in the initiation of the inflammatory response, in the activation of antigen-presenting cells and in resistance to infections.     

A linkage map of human chromosome 21:43 PCR markers at average intervals of 2.5 cM

A genetic linkage map of human chromosome 21q (HC21q) containing 43 markers genotyped by the polymerase chain reaction in the CEPH pedigrees is presented. The markers placed on this map are highly polymorphic with an average heterozygosity of 61%. The average interval size of the markers localized at 1000:1 odds is 2.5 cM. The map has a total length of 65.5 cM, with male and female lengths of 47.7 and 83.3 cM, respectively. The genotypes used in the construction of this map were subjected to rigorous error checking, which is reflected in the shorter map length compared to previous maps; the estimated error rate in genotyping is less than 0.04%. As noted in previous linkage maps there is increased recombination in females on proximal HC 21q and in the male in a region near the telomere. This map of HC 21 represents a highly informative and dense meiotic linkage map and will be useful in linking disease phenotypes to loci on this chromosome.     

Use of weibull statistics to quantify property variability in TiAl alloys

Tensile experiments have been performed on specimens of four different investment-cast TiAl-based alloys with variations in casting conditions. The average ductilities obtained in these experiments vary between approximately 0.8 to 2.0 pct plastic strain to failure in tension. By using the three-parameter form of the Weibull relation, with the 0.2 pct offset yield strength as the minimum failure strength, the resulting variability in the data can be quantified and is found to be similar for those alloys with similar microstructural scale (grain size). Large variations in lamellar volume fraction, segregation, and phase distribution have a minor influence on property variability, compared to changes in the scale of the grain structure caused by either variations in cooling rate during casting or the addition of grain refiners.