Article discussing research by Dr. Ernest J. Moore, professor of molecular pharmacology and audiology. This article discusses his research on tinnitus in zebrafish.

This paper reports the interim status in identifying and reviewing photovoltaic (PV) codes and standards (C&S) and related electrical activities for grid-connected, high-penetration PV systems with a focus on U.S. electric utility distribution grid interconnection.

Cloud droplet size distributions hence the key microphysical quantities (e.g., radar reflectivity, droplet concentration, liquid water content, relative dispersion, and mean-volume radius) are determined by different physical mechanisms, including pre-cloud aerosols as CCNs, cloud updraft, and various turbulent entrainment-mixing processes. Therefore, different relationships among these microphysical properties are expected in response to these various mechanisms. The effect of turbulent entrainment-mixing processes is particularly vexing, with different entrainment-mixing processes likely leading to different microphysical relationships. Cloud radar has been widely used to infer the cloud liquid water content (L) from the measurement of radar reflectivity (Z) using a Z-L relationship. Existing Z-L expressions have been often obtained empirically, and differ substantially (Khain et al. 2008). The discrepancy among Z-L relations, which has been hindering the application of cloud radar in measuring cloud properties, likely stems from the different relationships between the relevant microphysical properties caused by different physical processes. This study first analyzes the Z-L relationship theoretically, and identify the key microphysical properties that affect this relationship, and then address the effects of various processes on the Z-L relationship by discerning the characteristics of the relationships between the relative dispersion, droplet concentration, liquid water content, and mean-volume radius calculated from in-situ …

Characterizing flow patterns and mixing of fossil fuel-derived CO{sub 2} is important for effectively using atmospheric measurements to constrain emissions inventories. Here we used measurements and a model of atmospheric radiocarbon ({sup 14}C) to investigate the distribution and fluxes of atmospheric fossil fuel CO{sub 2} across the state of California. We sampled {sup 14}C in annual C{sub 3} grasses at 128 sites and used these measurements to test a regional model that simulated anthropogenic and ecosystem CO{sub 2} fluxes, transport in the atmosphere, and the resulting {sup 14}C of annual grasses ({Delta}{sub g}). Average measured {Delta}{sub g} in Los Angeles, San Francisco, the Central Valley, and the North Coast were 27.7 {+-} 20.0, 44.0 {+-} 10.9, 48.7 {+-} 1.9, and 59.9 {+-} 2.5{per_thousand}, respectively, during the 2004-2005 growing season. Model predictions reproduced regional patterns reasonably well, with estimates of 27.6 {+-} 2.4, 39.4 {+-} 3.9, 46.8 {+-} 3.0, and 59.3 {+-} 0.2{per_thousand} for these same regions and corresponding to fossil fuel CO{sub 2} mixing ratios (Cf) of 13.7, 6.1, 4.8, and 0.3 ppm. {Delta}{sub g} spatial heterogeneity in Los Angeles and San Francisco was higher in the measurements than in the predictions, probably from insufficient spatial resolution in the fossil …

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A Catalog of Control Systems Security: Recommendations for Standards Developers (Catalog), aimed at assisting organizations to facilitate the development and implementation of control system cyber security standards, has been developed. This catalog contains requirements that can help protect control systems from cyber attacks and can be applied to the Critical Infrastructures and Key Resources of the United States and other nations. The requirements contained in the catalog are a compilation of practices or various industry bodies used to increase the security of control systems from both physical and cyber attacks. They should be viewed as a collection of recommendations to be considered and judiciously employed, as appropriate, when reviewing and developing cyber security standards for control systems. The recommendations in the Catalog are intended to be broad enough to provide any industry using control systems the flexibility needed to develop sound cyber security standards specific to their individual security requirements.

The objectives of this report are: (1) to apply industrial back Al process in efficient n-wafer cells with a-Si:H front surface passivation; and (2) to evaluate the surface recombination velocity (SRV) of the a-Si:H passivated front surface with different surface preparation procedures.

We present scaled demonstrations of backlighter sources, emitting Bremsstrahlung x-rays with photon energies above 75 keV, that we will use to record x-ray Compton radiographic snapshots of cold dense DT fuel in inertial confinement fusion implosions at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). In experiments performed at the Titan laser facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, we measured the source size and the Bremsstrahlung spectrum as a function of laser intensity and pulse length, from solid targets irradiated at 2e17-5e18 W/cm{sup 2} using 2-40 ps pulses. Using Au planar foils we achieved source sizes down to 5.5 {micro}m, and conversion efficiencies of about 1e-3 J/J into x-ray photons with energies in the 75-100 keV spectral range. We can now use these results to design NIF backlighter targets and shielding, and to predict Compton radiography performance as a function of the NIF implosion yield and associated background.

We investigate the evolution of structures that result when spherical Cd nanoparticles of a few hundred nanometers in diameter react with dissolved molecular sulfur species in solution to form hollow CdS. Over a wide range of temperatures and concentrations, we find that rapid Cd diffusion through the growing CdS shell localizes the reaction front at the outermost CdS/S interface, leading to hollow particles when all the Cd is consumed. When we examine partially reacted particles, we find that this system differs significantly from others in which the nanoscale Kirkendall effect has been used to create hollow particles. In previously reported systems, partial reaction creates a hollow particle with a spherically symmetric metal core connected to the outer shell by filaments. In contrast, here we obtain a lower symmetry structure, in which the unreacted metal core and the coalesced vacancies separate into two distinct spherical caps, minimizing the metal/void interface. This pattern of void coalescence is likely to occur in situations where the metal/vacancy self-diffusivities in the core are greater than the diffusivity of the cations through the shell.

Among the olivine-structured metal phosphate family, LiMnPO{sub 4} exhibits a high discharge potential (4V), which is still compatible with common electrolytes, making it interesting for use in the next generation of Li ion batteries. The extremely low electronic conductivity of this material severely limits its electrochemical performance, however. One strategy to overcome this limitation is to make LiMnPO{sub 4} nanoparticulate to decrease the diffusion distance. Another is to add a carbon or other conductive coating in intimate contact with the nanoparticles of the main phase, as is commonly done with LiFePO{sub 4}. The electrochemical performance of LiFePO{sub 4} is highly dependent on the quality of the carbon coatings on the particles [1-2], among other variables. Combustion synthesis allows the co-synthesis of nanoparticles coated with carbon in one step. Hydrothermal synthesis is used industrially to make LiFePO{sub 4} cathode materials [3] and affords a good deal of control over purity, crystallinity, and particle size. A wide range of olivine-structured materials has been successfully prepared by this technique [4], including LiMnPO{sub 4} in this study. In this paper, we report on the new synthesis of nano-LiMnPO{sub 4} by a combustion method. The purity is dependent upon the conditions used for synthesis, including …

In this study we analyze relative contributions to the cause and mechanism of injection-induced micro-earthquakes (MEQs) at The Geysers geothermal field, California. We estimated the potential for inducing seismicity by coupled thermal-hydrological-mechanical analysis of the geothermal steam production and cold water injection to calculate changes in stress (in time and space) and investigated if those changes could induce a rock mechanical failure and associated MEQs. An important aspect of the analysis is the concept of a rock mass that is critically stressed for shear failure. This means that shear stress in the region is near the rock-mass frictional strength, and therefore very small perturbations of the stress field can trigger an MEQ. Our analysis shows that the most important cause for injection-induced MEQs at The Geysers is cooling and associated thermal-elastic shrinkage of the rock around the injected fluid that changes the stress state in such a way that mechanical failure and seismicity can be induced. Specifically, the cooling shrinkage results in unloading and associated loss of shear strength in critically shear-stressed fractures, which are then reactivated. Thus, our analysis shows that cooling-induced shear slip along fractures is the dominant mechanism of injection-induced MEQs at The Geysers.

Wind power production is variable, but also has diurnal and seasonal patterns. These patterns differ between sites, potentially making electric power from some wind sites more valuable for meeting customer loads or selling in wholesale power markets. This paper investigates whether the timing of wind significantly affects the value of electricity from sites in California and the Northwestern United States. We use both measured and modeled wind data and estimate the time-varying value of wind power with both financial and load-based metrics. We find that the potential difference in wholesale market value between better-correlated and poorly correlated wind sites is modest, on the order of 5-10 percent. A load-based metric, power production during the top 10 percent of peak load hours, varies more strongly between sites, suggesting that the capacity value of different wind projects could vary by as much as 50 percent based on the timing of wind alone.

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We report a search for the flavor changing neutral current (FCNC) decay of the top quark t {yields} Zq (q = u, c) in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9 fb{sup -1} collected by the CDF II detector. This decay is strongly suppressed in the standard model (SM) and a signal at the Tevatron would be an indication of physics beyond the SM. Using Z+ {ge} 4 jet final state candidate events, both with and without an identified bottom quark jet, we discriminate signal from background by exploring kinematic constraints present in FCNC events and obtain an upper limit of {Beta}(t {yields} Zq) < 3.7% at 95% C.L.

The results of a review and evaluation of neutron and non-neutron nuclear data published in the scientific literature are presented. The status of new chemical elements is examined. Data on revised values for the isotopic composition of the elements are reviewed and recommended values are presented. Half-lives of very long-lived nuclides are presented, including double beta decay, double electron capture, long-lived alpha decay and long-lived beta decay. Data from new measurements on the very heavy elements (trans-meitnerium elements) are discussed and tabulated. The first observation of the radioactive decay mode of the free neutron is discussed. New measurements that have expanded the neutron drip line for magnesium and aluminum are discussed. Data on recent neutron cross-section and resonance integral measurements are also discussed.

Recently, much research has been directed towards finding a replacement cathode material for LiCoO{sub 2} combining high performance with lower cost and toxicity. One promising candidate material is the mixed transition metal oxide LiNi{sub 0.4}Co{sub 0.2}Mn{sub 0.4}O{sub 2}, which delivers 180 mAh/g below 4.4 V versus Li/Li{sup +} (1, 2). However, in this material, there is 4% anti-site cation mixing, which hinders the mobility of lithium within the lattice, adversely affecting its rate performance in lithium batteries. Ongoing work in our lab has shown that partial or full substitution of cobalt with aluminum, LiNi{sub 0.4}Co{sub 0.2}Mn{sub 0.4}O{sub 2} (0 < y {le} 0.2), can lead to significant improvements in rate performance (3). In particular, LiNi{sub 0.4}Co{sub 0.2}Mn{sub 0.4}O{sub 2} shows greatly improved rate capability with almost no sacrifice in the overall capacity delivered at low rates between 2.0 and 4.3V (Figure 1). The smaller ionic radius of Al{sup 3+} in octahedral coordination (0.535 {angstrom}) compared to Li{sup +} (0.76 {angstrom}) creates a strong driving force for the formation of a more lamellar structure in the aluminum containing materials (4, 5). XRD experiments and subsequent Rietveld refinement (Figure 2) reveal a significant decrease in anti-site defect concentration upon aluminum substitution, dropping …

The authors present measurements of the CP-violation parameters S and C for the radiative decay B{sup 0} {yields} {eta}K{sub S}{sup 0}{gamma}; for B {yields} {eta}K{gamma} they also measure the branching fractions and for B{sup +} {yields} {eta}K{sup +}{gamma} the time-integrated charge asymmetry {Alpha}{sub ch}. The data, collected with the BABAR detector at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, represent 465 x 10{sup 6} B{bar B} pairs produced in e{sup +}e{sup -} annihilation. The results are S = -0.18{sub -0.46}{sup +0.49} {+-} 0.12, C = -0.32{sub -0.39}{sup +0.40} {+-} 0.07, {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {eta}K{sup 0}{gamma}) = (7.1{sub -2.0}{sup +2.1} {+-} 0.4) x 10{sup -6}, {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {eta}K{sup +}{gamma}) = (7.7 {+-} 1.0 {+-} 0.4) x 10{sup -6}, and {Alpha}{sub ch} = (-9.0{sub -9.8}{sup +10.4} {+-} 1.4) x 10{sup -2}. The first error quoted is statistical and the second systematic.

Unlike macroparticle simulations, which are sensitive to unphysical statistical fluctuations when the number of macroparticles is smaller than the bunch population, direct methods for solving the Vlasov equation are free from sampling noise and are ideally suited for studying microbunching instabilities evolving from shot noise. We review a 2D (longitudinal dynamics) Vlasov solver we have recently developed to study the microbunching instability in the beam delivery systems for x-ray FELs and present an application to FERMI{at}Elettra. We discuss, in particular, the impact of the spreader design on microbunching.

Using direct-write approaches in photovoltaics for metallization and contact formation can significantly reduce the cost per watt of producing photovoltaic devices. Inks have been developed for various materials, such as Ag, Cu, Ni and Al, which can be used to inkjet print metallizations for various kinds of photovoltaic devices. Use of these inks results in metallization with resistivities close to those of bulk materials. By means of inkjet printing a metallization grid can be printed with better resolution, i.e. smaller lines, than screen-printing. Also inks have been developed to deposit transparent conductive oxide films by means of ultrasonic spraying.

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Secondary-ion mass spectrometry analysis of the CdS/CdTe interface shows that S diffusion in CdTe increases with substrate temperature and CdCl2 heat treatment. There is also an accumulation of Cl at the interface for CdCl2-treated samples. Modulated photo-reflectance studies shows that devices with CdCl2 heat treatment and open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 835 mV have a distinct high electric-field region in the layer with bandgap of 1.45 eV. Electron-beam induced current measurements reveal a one-sided junction for high Voc devices. The nature of the junction changes with processing. For heterojunction devices, the depletion region includes the highly defective CdS/CdTe interface, which would increase the recombination current and consequently the dark current, leading to lower Voc. In the case of CdCl2-treated cells, the n+-p junction and its high electric-field results in the junction between structurally compatible CdTe and the Te-rich CdSTe alloy, and thus, in higher Voc.

This paper describes approaches to lower the acceptor ionization energy in ZnO by codoping acceptors with donor or isovalent atoms and proposes a universal approach to overcome the doping polarity problem for wide-band-gap semiconductors.

An automatic data-smoothing algorithm for data from digital oscilloscopes is described. The algorithm adjusts the bandwidth of the filtering as a function of time to provide minimum mean squared error at each time. It produces an estimate of the root-mean-square error as a function of time and does so without any statistical assumptions about the unknown signal. The algorithm is based on least-squares fitting to the data of cubic spline functions.