A photovoltaic device structure based on internal electron emission

There has been an active search for cost-effective photovoltaic devices since the development of the first solar cells in the 1950s (refs 1-3). In conventional solid-state solar cells, electron-hole pairs are created by light absorption in a semiconductor, with charge separation and collection accomplished under the influence of electric fields within the semiconductor. Here we report a multilayer photovoltaic device structure in which photon absorption instead occurs in photoreceptors deposited on the surface of an ultrathin metal-semiconductor junction Schottky diode. Photoexcited electrons are transferred to the metal and travel ballistically to--and over--the Schottky barrier, so providing the photocurrent output. Low-energy (approximately 1 eV) electrons have surprisingly long ballistic path lengths in noble metals, allowing a large fraction of the electrons to be collected. Unlike conventional cells, the semiconductor in this device serves only for majority charge transport and separation. Devices fabricated using a fluorescein photoreceptor on an Au/TiO2/Ti multilayer structure had typical open-circuit photovoltages of 600-800 mV and short-circuit photocurrents of 10-18 micro A cm(-2) under 100 mW cm(-2) visible band illumination: the internal quantum efficiency (electrons measured per photon absorbed) was 10 per cent. This alternative approach to photovoltaic energy conversion might provide the basis for durable low-cost solar cells using a variety of materials.     

钢筋受压黏结滑移模型

为研究钢筋的受压黏结滑移关系,采用分辨率较高的激光位移计,对一批短锚长试件进行系列推出试验研究,得到精确度较高的黏结滑移值及完整的试验黏结滑移关系曲线,描述钢筋在混凝土中的受压黏结滑移破坏全过程:弹性阶段、局部滑移阶段、滑移上升段、滑移下降段和残余段.在对试验得到的较短锚长试件推出试验结果分析的基础上,经统计回归和分析,提出钢筋的受压黏结滑移曲线模型,并与试验结果进行对比.     

滇西施甸地区寒武系-泥盆系瘤状灰岩特征及成因探讨

施甸地区寒武系-泥盆系瘤状灰岩发育,其瘤体与基质的矿物组成、结构、构造不尽相同,可识别出不同的成因类型：上寒武统保山组中瘤状灰岩是暴露成因的,即灰泥沉积层间歇性地暴露干裂、移位磨蚀,并被后期沉积物充填胶结而成;奥陶系-泥盆系中的瘤状灰岩是沉积物沉积时期周期性海底溶解和成岩过程中差异性压实和压溶共同作用的产物.岩石中各组分含量及后期压溶作用强度的差异导致了瘤状灰岩不同的存在形式.     

切向燃烧锅炉炉膛结构对烟道烟气偏差的影响

对引进型６００ＭＷ机组四角切向燃烧锅炉进行冷态模化试验,系统地研究了上部炉膛折焰角结构和炉膛高度对水平烟道内气流速度不均匀性的影响．通过对原炉膛结构进行改进,提出了新的折焰角结构和炉膛高度,明显减小了水平烟道内气流速度场的不均匀性,为解决大容量四角切向燃烧锅炉水平烟道烟气偏差提供了有价值的试验数据,并为锅炉设计和改造提供了参考依据．     

The medaka draft genome and insights into vertebrate genome evolution

Teleosts comprise more than half of all vertebrate species and have adapted to a variety of marine and freshwater habitats. Their genome evolution and diversification are important subjects for the understanding of vertebrate evolution. Although draft genome sequences of two pufferfishes have been published, analysis of more fish genomes is desirable. Here we report a high-quality draft genome sequence of a small egg-laying freshwater teleost, medaka (Oryzias latipes). Medaka is native to East Asia and an excellent model system for a wide range of biology, including ecotoxicology, carcinogenesis, sex determination and developmental genetics. In the assembled medaka genome (700 megabases), which is less than half of the zebrafish genome, we predicted 20,141 genes, including approximately 2,900 new genes, using 5'-end serial analysis of gene expression tag information. We found single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at an average rate of 3.42% between the two inbred strains derived from two regional populations; this is the highest SNP rate seen in any vertebrate species. Analyses based on the dense SNP information show a strict genetic separation of 4 million years (Myr) between the two populations, and suggest that differential selective pressures acted on specific gene categories. Four-way comparisons with the human, pufferfish (Tetraodon), zebrafish and medaka genomes revealed that eight major interchromosomal rearrangements took place in a remarkably short period of approximately 50 Myr after the whole-genome duplication event in the teleost ancestor and afterwards, intriguingly, the medaka genome preserved its ancestral karyotype for more than 300 Myr.     

Li4Ti5O12/NiO复合材料的制备及其电化学性能

以Li4Ti5O12,Ni(NO3)2·6H2O和NH4HCO3为原料,采用化学沉积法与热分解法相结合制备一系列Li4Ti5O12/NiO复合材料.通过X线衍射仪、扫描电镜和X线能谱仪对所得材料进行物理结构、形貌和成分分析,采用恒流充放电和循环伏安测试研究材料的电化学性能.结果表明,Li4Ti5O12/NiO (5％)复合材料具有最佳的循环可逆性能,适量的NiO可有效改善材料的电化学性能.在2.5～0.1 V的电压范围和30 mA/g的电流密度下,30次循环后,Li4Ti5O12/NiO(5％)复合材料具有最佳的放电比容量为228.3 mA·h/g,与Li4Ti5O12相比,提高了23.8 mA·h/g;Li4Ti5O12/NiO(5％)复合材料中的NiO没有阻碍电极反应中锂离子的迁移,且提高了Li4Ti5O12电极材料的电导率,降低了电极的极化.     

波形钢腹板混凝土组合梁挠度计算的初参数法

为准确计算波形钢腹板混凝土组合梁的挠度,推导了考虑剪切变形影响的波形钢腹板混凝土组合梁的挠曲线初参数方程.首先分析了波形钢腹板混凝土组合梁截面上剪应力的分布特点,得到了腹板剪应力的简化计算公式;然后推导了其挠曲线的初参数方程,提出了组合梁挠度的计算方法,进而对承受跨中集中荷载、两点对称荷载和均布荷载等3种典型荷载作用下的波形钢腹板混凝土组合梁的挠度进行分析,并将其结果与试验实测值、有限元结果进行比较,验证了文中理论方法的准确性和适用性;最后利用文中理论方法和有限元方法分析了跨高比和宽高比对波形钢腹板混凝土组合梁剪切变形的影响,并给出了波形钢腹板混凝土组合梁挠度计算是否需要考虑剪切变形影响的跨高比界限建议值.     

The feasibility of making short-term migration estimates

Short-term migration, that is stays of less than 12 months, has received particular attention recently from both national and local level users of population statistics. This interest is part of the wider interest shown in increasing levels of long-term migration statistics in recent years. This article is an initial assessment by ONS of the potential to produce short-term migration estimates for England and Wales, and the challenges faced in doing so. Central to these challenges is the question of how short-term migration should be defined. In addition, illustrative estimates of short-term migration based on the International Passenger Survey (IPS) are provided. These illustrative estimates, along with associated standard errors, are provided at both national and regional levels using a number of definitional bases.     

Improving the thermal stability of lactate oxidase by directed evolution

Lactate oxidase is used in biosensors to measure the concentration of lactate in the blood and other body fluids. Increasing the thermostability of lactate oxidase can significantly prolong the lifetime of these biosensors. We have previously obtained a variant of lactate oxidase from Aerococcus viridans with two mutations (E160G/V198I) that is significantly more thermostable than the wild-type enzyme. Here we have attempted to further improve the thermostability of E160G/V198I lactate oxidase using directed evolution. We made a mutant lactate oxidase gene library by applying error-prone PCR and DNA shuffling, and screened for thermostable mutant lactate oxidase using a plate-based assay. After three rounds of screening we obtained a thermostable mutant lactate oxidase, which has six mutations (E160G/V198I/G36S/T103S/A232S/F277Y). The half-life of this lactate oxidase at 70 °C was about 2 times that of E160G/V198I and about 36 times that of the wild-type enzyme. The amino acid mutation process suggests that the combined neutral mutations are important in protein evolution. Received 15 September 2006; received after revision 21 October 2006; accepted 2 November 2006     

Targeted inhibition of Livin resensitizes renal cancer cells towards apoptosis

Cancer cells are typically characterized by apoptosis deficiency. In order to investigate a possible role for the anti-apoptotic livin gene in renal cell cancer (RCC), we analyzed its expression in tumor tissue samples and in RCC-derived cell lines. In addition, we studied the contribution of livin to the apoptotic resistance of RCC cells by RNA interference (RNAi). Livin gene expression was detected in a significant portion of RCC tumor tissue specimens (13/14, 92.9%) and tumor-derived cell lines (12/15, 80.0%). Moreover, targeted inhibition of livin by RNAi markedly sensitized RCC cells towards proapoptotic stimuli, such as UV irradiation or the chemotherapeutic drugs etoposide, 5-fluorouracil, and vinblastine. These effects were specific for livin expressing tumor cells. We conclude that livin can contribute significantly to the apoptosis resistance of RCC cells. Targeted inhibition of livin could represent a novel therapeutic strategy to increase the sensitivity of renal cancers towards pro-apoptotic agents. Received 30 November 2006; received after revision 22 February 2007; accepted 20 March 2007