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The study aimed to determine how much change in neurogenic claudication spinal surgeons expect in patients following lumbar decompression for lumbar spine stenosis (LSS), and radicular leg pain following microdiscectomy. Secondary aims were to identify surgeons' preferences regarding surgical techniques for lumbar decompression, and their rating of the quality of current evidence for lumbar decompression. All Australian spine surgeons were invited, of whom 71 completed the survey (31% response rate). Only registered spinal surgeons were included. The online survey, administered using REDCap, included 4 sections: demographics and background; expected change in symptoms on a +/- 100% scale (-100% worst, 0% no change and 100% best possible); surgical preference; and rating of current evidence for lumbar decompression compared with other treatments. There were 71 complete responses, 76% were neurosurgeons (N = 54), predominantly male (96%; N = 68). On average, surgeons expected an 86% (median: 87%, inter-quartile range (IQR): 80%, 91%) improvement in neurogenic claudication following lumbar decompression for LSS and 89% (median: 91%, IQR: 85%, 95%) improvement in radicular pain following microdiscectomy. A multiple linear regression found no surgeon characteristics were associated with expected change following surgery. The preferred surgical technique for LSS was full laminectomy (58%; N = 41). Thirty-five percent of surgeons accurately rated the evidence supporting the superiority of lumbar decompression compared with non-surgical care for LSS as low quality. Spine surgeons expect large symptom improvements following lumbar decompression and microdiscectomy. Understanding of the current evidence was higher for lumbar decompression with fusion, than for decompression alone for LSS.

The process of evaluating and selecting an EHR is often one of the most challenging decisions for a practice, ASC or other physician group. This chapter will define the differences between an EHR and an EMR as well as utilize a logical and comprehensive approach towards this endpoint. EHRs are an important backbone of collecting, synthesizing, evaluating and processing data that can be used in a meaningful manner for both patients and providers. Interoperability and those complementary components are akin to a successful implementation and can serve in providing clinical decision support, benchmarking information, and clinical metrics which will be utilized to provide enhanced patient care and improved delivery models.

Poorly controlled acute pain during the postoperative setting after abdominal surgery can be detrimental to the patient. Current pain management practices for the postoperative abdominal surgery patient rely heavily on opioids, which are associated with many unwanted side effects. Recently, interest surrounding regional anesthesia has been growing owing to its demonstrated efficacy and safety outcomes. More specifically, the transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block procedure has attracted attention owing to its ability to successfully block peripheral pain signaling in the abdomen, its ease of use, few complications, and its greater acceptability. A majority of the studies published has demonstrated the successful reduction in pain in many abdominal surgical procedures using local anesthetics during the TAP block. However, the short duration of the pain block causes the patient to still rely on other analgesics throughout the additional postoperative days. Preliminary studies using continuous infusion catheters placed in the TAP has been one of the ways to prolong the nerve block in the abdomen; however, technical and operational issues currently limit the widespread adoption of this method. In this review, current studies will be presented and summarized to update the field on the potential benefits of the TAP block procedure, in addition to providing insight into the future direction of the drugs that could be used for TAP block.

Bruce Crawford1, Richard H Stanford2, Audrey Y Wong1, Anand A Dalal2, Martha S Bayliss11Mapi Values, Boston, MA, USA; 2GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, NC, USABackground: Allergic rhinitis affects 10%–20% of the US population. Its chronic nature, combined with patients' perceptions of safety/efficacy, administration, and sensory attributes of nasal sprays (corticosteroids), impact patient adherence to therapy. The purpose of this study was to develop a measure of experience with and preference for corticosteroid therapy for treatment of allergic rhinitis.Methods: Questionnaire development was conducted through qualitative research including concept elicitation and content testing in 153 patients with allergic rhinitis. Patient focus groups (n = 66), in conjunction with content confirmation and saturation in additional groups (n = 87), provided research data. A literature-based conceptual framework was incorporated into the interview guide. An iterative process of data collection, analysis, and theory development yielded the conceptual framework.Results: Consistent comments from the focus groups combined with those from cognitive debriefing interviews led to the incorporation of 14 finalized attributes into the Experience with Allergic Rhinitis Nasal Spray Questionnaire (EARNS-Q) items. Between the first and second cognitive debriefing interviews, researchers revised the EARNS-Q for retesting. Face and content validity tests indicated that the items, responses, and instructions were understood by study participants. The EARNS-Q is comprised of two modules that measure patient experience with nasal sprays (experience module), and patient preference for a nasal spray relative to another (preference module).Conclusion: The EARNS-Q accurately measured patient experience with and preference for nasal sprays used in treating allergic rhinitis. A potential application of this questionnaire may be as a patient-reported outcomes endpoint in clinical trials of intranasal corticosteroids in patients with allergic rhinitis.Keywords: EARNS-Q, allergic rhinitis, intranasal corticosteroid, patient preference, experience, questionnaire development

Nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) is a commercially important rechargeable battery technology for both consumer and industrial applications due to design flexibility, excellent energy and power, environmental acceptability and cost. [1] From the initial product introduction in 1991 of cylindrical cells having an energy of 54 Wh kg −1 , today's small consumer cells have a specific energy over 100 Wh kg −1 . Numerous licensed manufacturers produce a myriad of NiMH products ranging from 30 mAh button cells to a wide variety of consumer cylindrical products, prismatic cells up to 250 Ah for electric buses and 6 Ah multicell modules for hybrid electric vehicles. Power has increased from under 200 to 1200 W kg −1 commercially and up to 2000 W kg −1 at a development level [2] . Early NiMH batteries had limited operating temperatures while today's batteries can provide excellent power at cold temperatures of −30 °C and provide over 90% capacity at 70 °C. Many of these product performance advances are a result of innovations to the metal hydride and nickel hydroxide materials. We will report on some of these key material advances which provide today's NiMH performance and new materials to allow higher energy, power and significant cost reduction.

Multielement, multiphase disordered metal hydride alloys have enabled the widespread commercialization of NiMH batteries by allowing high capacity and good kinetics while overcoming the crucial barrier of unstable oxidation/corrosion behavior to obtain long cycle life. Atomic engineering is used to promote a high concentration of active hydrogen storage sites vital for raising NiMH specific energy to 100 Wh kg−1 by utilizing metal hydride materials having in excess of 440 mAh g−1 specific capacity. New commercial applications demand fundamentally higher specific power and discharge rate kinetics. Disorder at the metal/electrolyte interface has enabled a surface oxide with metallic nickel alloy inclusions having a diameter less than 70 A embedded within the oxide, which provide exceptional catalytic activity to the metal hydride electrode surface and allowed NiMH specific power exceeding 1000 W kg−1.

While Ovonic NiMH batteries are already in high volume commercial production for portable applications, advances in materials technology have enabled performance improvements in specific energy (100 Wh/kg), specific power (600-1000 W/kg), high temperature operation, charge retention, and voltage stability. Concurrent with technology advances, Ovonic NiMH batteries have established performance and commercial milestones in electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, as well as scooter, motorcycle and bicycle applications. As important as these advances, significant manufacturing cost reductions have also occurred which allow continued growth of NiMH technology. In this paper, advances in performance, applications and cost reduction are discussed with particular emphasis on the improved proprietary metal hydride and nickel hydroxide materials that make such advances possible.

With their impressive energy performance and their outstanding power capability, Ni-MH batteries are equally suitable for use in pure and hybrid electric vehicles. This is due to the basic nickel-metal hydride technology. For one thing, hydrogen can be stored in metal-hydride alloys at very high volumetric densities, comparable to the density in liquid hydrogen, leading to the superior energy density of metal-hydride batteries. The operating principles of the Ni-MH battery are described as is their construction and manufacture. The on-road performance of Ni-MH batteries and hybrid electric vehicle batteries are discussed.

Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) immunoreactivity has been detected in the bladder and increases in response to dilatation secondary to obstruction. The hypothesis that PTHrP could be increased solely by stretch rather than other possible in vivo variables was tested by stretching cultured bladder smooth muscle cells and analyzing the culture medium for this protein. In response to mechanical stretch, PTHrP was increased in smooth muscle cell cultures. Immunoradiometric assay revealed maximal rates of secretion for the first eight hours. Comparison of percent change in PTHrP secretion of flexed cells for the various flex parameters revealed a difference (p = .006) when the degree of stretch (i.e. percent elongation) was altered. The protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide inhibited basal and stretch-induced PTHrP secretion.PTHrP (1-100 nM) relaxed carbachol-contracted bladder body and base by 15% and 45% respectively. PTHrP did not affect bladder contractions induced by potassium (124...

BACKGROUND The accumulation of chromogranin A (Chr A) and cathepsin D (Cath D) gene products may be important in prostate carcinoma progression. This study assessed whether the levels of immunoreactivity for Chr A and Cath D are better predictors of disease specific survival than conventional pathologic parameters of the primary tumor such as Gleason score, capsular penetration, seminal vesicle invasion, and percent tumor in the specimen for patients with clinically localized prostate carcinoma managed by radical prostatectomy. METHODS Seventy-one patients with modified Jewett clinical stages A1 to B2 adenocarcinoma of the prostate underwent a radical prostatectomy after a negative metastatic workup. No neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatments were given and all disease recurrences and causes of death were recorded. Analysis of prostatectomy specimens was undertaken to determine the conventional pathologic parameters of the primary tumor and Chr A and Cath D immunohistochemical staining. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the independent contributions of Chr A and Cath D in predicting survival. RESULTS On univariate analysis Chr A was the only variable that reached statistical significance for disease specific survival (P = 0.035). Cath D nearly reached significance with a P value of 0.079 for disease specific survival. On multivariate analysis, the only independent factor predicting disease specific survival was the Chr A staining score (P < 0.05). In patients with unequivocal foci of Chr A immunoreactivity, the 14-year disease specific survival was 50% compared with 68% for patients lacking such foci. CONCLUSIONS The level of Chr A immunohistochemical staining is a strong predictor of disease specific survival and is superior to standard pathologic prognostic factors. Such findings lay the groundwork for future prospective study of the utility of such markers on biopsy specimens to predict patient outcome. Cancer 1997; 80:2109-19. © 1997 American Cancer Society.

Nickel/metal hydride batteries today represent the fastest growing market segment for rechargeable batteries due to the high energy density and more environmentally acceptable chemistry offered by this technology. The high energy density of nickel/metal hydride batteries coupled with high power density and long cycle life make this battery chemistry a key enabling technology for practical electric vehicles, including cars, vans, trucks, and other forms of transportation such as scooters, bicycles, and three-wheelers. This paper provides a review of Ovonic technology and up-dates recent developments in materials and cell development for both consumer electronic and EV applications, and highlights areas for future development.

Although GeTe-${\mathrm{Sb}}_{2}{\mathrm{Te}}_{3}$ (GST) alloys are widely used in data storage, many fundamental issues are still under debate. Here, we demonstrate that the presence of vacancies in the crystalline phase has far-reaching consequences, namely, a triad of twofold coordinated Te atoms with lone-pair electrons generated around the vacancy enables the formation of soft three-center four-electron bonds, whose properties provide an explanation for the unusual characteristics of GST, in particular, the increase in local disorder upon crystallization, the co-existence of a very fast switching rate with a large property contrast, the possibility of a solid-solid amorphization process that excludes conventional melting, and the drastic difference in crystallization behavior between GST and the ideal binary GeTe. Anisotropy of the three-center bonds may serve as an additional degree of freedom for information recording and provide a unified explanation for a variety of unique effects observed in lone-pair semiconductors.

The crystallization of amorphous carbon films, under inert atmospheres, occurs at annealing temperatures above 800 °C. In this work we have found that when the annealing of carbon films is performed under atmospheric conditions, crystallization occurs at temperatures as low as 200 °C. The catalytic effect of oxygen in the crystallization process is understood in terms of the generation of a porous structure in the carbon film due to the vaporization of carbon oxides.

Neutral and ionic gas temperatures (Tn and Ti) are crucial parameters in the plasma processing of materials (etching and film deposition). Here we evaluate a method used for obtaining the temperatures, i.e., the Doppler broadening, of emission lines. We focus on Ar lines from microwave electron cyclotron resonance plasmas. We use the same technique for both ions and neutrals. Three factors are important in achieving accuracy: (1) knowing the correct instrument width at the central wavelength of each ion and neutral line, (2) understanding the noise‐dependent variation in the measured widths, and (3) knowing how the magnetic field affects the spectra. We find that T can be determined to within ∼100 °C. Ti and Tn are typically found to be ∼0.5 and

Amorphous thin film tetrahedrally based alloys have recently achieved an efficiency which permits them in volume production to become competitive to fossil fuels. In this paper, the next stage of development which is to raise stabilized efficiencies to 18% is discussed. It is shown how the scientific and technological problems can be viewed and understood and point to means of solution.

The Ovonic Phase Change Memory is critical in the quest to meet the increasing commercial needs for new information systems. The important paper of DerChang Kau et al. [1], describing a stackable cross point phase change memory, resulting in a three dimensional device which includes the Ovonic Threshold Switch, therefore permits a significant expansion of our field. I will propose and show that our basic science allows for other transformative changes that combine both threshold and phase change mechanisms in a single device. The mechanisms that I will describe have already been proven. My aim is to provide the understanding of these mechanisms so that new devices based on them can become important components that illustrate the great potential of our field. I know of no better place to give this kind of talk than Italy where I have had some of my happiest memories of working together with Roberto Bez and his wonderful colleagues and collaborators., 8 pages, 11 figures, E*PCOS2010, European Symposium on Phase Change and Ovonic Science, Milan, Italy September 6-7, 2010

We report the effect that thermal annealing in inert and oxidizing atmospheres, and with and without encapsulating layers, has on the structure of tungsten/carbon [W/C] multilayer thin films. This study focuses on the tungsten component and deals mainly with multilayers where the ratio of thickness of tungsten layers is equal to or greater than for the carbon layers (that is, γ ≤ 0.5). This is in contrast to prior studies where the tungsten layer thickness was generally held constant and the carbon layer was varied. Thermal annealing in inert atmospheres produces reactions and other structural changes in the tungsten and carbide layers which depend on the as-deposited multilayer structure which depends, in turn, on the thickness of the tungsten layer. In samples where both the tungsten and carbide fractions of the multilayer are completely amorphous as deposited, which is the case for thin tungsten layers (thickness of tungsten (tw)4 nm/period), the reactions in the tungsten layer forming crystalline tungsten and tungsten carbide occur at annealing temperatures above 900°C. The layer pair spacing, or period, (d), in this group shows an expansion of up to 10-15% of the original value as has been reported in the past. Changes in both the tungsten and carbide layers, and their interfaces, contribute to changes in d spacing and relative thickness of the high and low Z components. When the tungsten layer thickness exceeds 4 nm per period the tungsten is partially crystallized in as-prepared samples. In such multilayers interfacial reactions, producing an oriented partially crystalline W2C/C superlattice, occur at temperatures of 600°C and below. The fact that W2C crystallites in one period can form a structure which is correlated to W2C crystallites in neighboring layers is somewhat surprising, since layers are presumably still separated by amorphous carbon which is still visible via Raman. The expansion of the layer pair spacing is relatively small (5%) in this group and, more importantly, mostly involves increases in the thickness of the high Z components. Samples annealed in air at temperatures below 300°C are progressively destroyed by the oxidation of both tungsten and carbide layers. Encapsulation of similar multilayers with a thin (30 nm) dielectric layer of any of several types can retard oxidation to 600°C. The silicon-containing encapsulants generally perform better. Failure at this temperature is seen to occur from pinhole formation.

Monitored anesthesia care (MAC) is a safe, effective, and appropriate form of anesthesia for many minor surgical procedures. The proliferation of outpatient procedures has heightened interest in MAC sedation agents. Among the most commonly used MAC sedation agents today are benzodiazepines, including midazolam, and propofol. Recently approved in the United States is fospropofol, a prodrug of propofol which hydrolyzes in the body by alkaline phosphatase to liberate propofol. Propofol liberated from fospropofol has unique pharmacological properties, but recently retracted pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) evaluations make it difficult to formulate clear conclusions with respect to fospropofol's PK/PD properties. In safety and efficacy clinical studies, fospropofol demonstrated dose-dependent sedation with good rates of success at doses of 6.5 mg/kg along with good levels of patient and physician acceptance. Fospropofol has been associated with less pain at injection site than propofol. The most commonly reported side effects with fospropofol are paresthesia and pruritus. Fospropofol is a promising new sedation agent that appears to be well suited for MAC sedation, but further studies are needed to better understand its PK/PD properties as well its appropriate clinical role in outpatient procedures.

Widespread use of electric vehicles can have significant impact on urban air quality, national energy independence, and international balance of trade. An efficient battery is the key technological element to the development of practical electric vehicles. The science and technology of a nickel metal hydride battery, which stores hydrogen in the solid hydride phase and has high energy density, high power, long life, tolerance to abuse, a wide range of operating temperature, quick-charge capability, and totally sealed maintenance-free operation, is described. A broad range of multi-element metal hydride materials that use structural and compositional disorder on several scales of length has been engineered for use as the negative electrode in this battery. The battery operates at ambient temperature, is made of nontoxic materials, and is recyclable. Demonstration of the manufacturing technology has been achieved.

We describe a pairing mechanism that is based on changes in the O-Cu-O bonds and orbital configurations that occur in the mixed valence planar superconducting ceramics. We discuss the mobility of these spin-zero bosons and their distinctive differences from other proposed real-space bosons.

High-quality epitaxial YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7−δ (F) films were grown directly on r-plane (1 1 02) sapphire by a pulsed laser deposition technique using a multiphase fluorinated target. X-ray diffraction data showed that the film is highly c -axis oriented and in-plane aligned. The c -axis and in-plane mosaic spread are 1.1° and 2.4°, respectively. The microwave surface resistance measured by a con-focal resonator configuration is 56 mΩ at 94.1 GHz at 77 K which is the best reported value for a YBCO film on sapphire. The improved film quality is attributed to the fluorine which is transported from the target to the growing surface of the film where it acts as an etching and/or catalytic agent to preferentially remove defects and second phase impurities and to promote better in-plane epitaxy.

High quality epitaxial YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ (F) films were grown directly on r -plane (1102) sapphire by a pulsed laser deposition technique using a multiphase fluorinated target. X-ray diffraction data showed that the film is highly c -axis oriented and in-plane aligned. The c -axis and in-plane mosaic spread are 1.1° and 2.4°, respectively. The film has a Tc(R=) of 89K with a transition width less than 0.25K. The microwave surface resistance R s measured by a con-focal resonator configuration is 56mΩ at 94.1 GHz at 77K which is the best reported value for a YBCO film on sapphire. The magnetization critical current density is as high as 3x10 7 A/cm 2 at 5K and 2x10 6 A/cm 2 at 77K. A bandpass filter which is centered at 8.1 GHz is fabricated. A very low insertion loss (

The environmental advantages of ovonic NiH/sub 2/ batteries, due to the nontoxicity of ovonic alloys, are briefly discussed, and their general performance is described. Commercial progress in their development is summarized. Their use in electric vehicles is examined. >

The rate at which coherence is established in an FEL oscillator can be extremely slow. This is particularly true if the electron beam is relativistic such that the electrons and radiation move at nearly the same speed. In this case information about the amplitude and phase of two different portions of the radiation signal is communicated between these points at a slow rate relying on beam slippage. If a low-loss dispersive element is added to the feedback loop the rate at which coherence is established can be greatly enhanced without destroying the tunability of the device. An interesting side effect of the addition of dispersion to the system is the appearance of a modulational instability of the radiation pulse. This instability is similar to the sideband instability in that it causes a monochromatic radiation signal to spontaneously develop sidebands. It is different, however, in that the instability is due to the radiation amplitude dependence of the beam-induced frequency shift as opposed to the amplitude dependence of the gain.

We present an unusual case of an extremely well-differentiated but deeply invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the penis without an obvious external lesion, arising from a chronic draining sinus tract. This case highlights how a confounding clinical history, physical examination and initial biopsies may lead to a significant delay in diagnosis. This delay may have resulted in tumour growth and the need for a more extensive partial penectomy than would have occurred had the diagnosis been made more promptly. Finally, this case demonstrates the key diagnostic utility of deep core biopsies of the penis in situations where a cutaneous lesion does not exist.

Paul Davies, a highly respected theoretical physicist recently stated that "the essence of life is information." 1 I will describe how the essence of information is plasticity, that information is encoded energy requiring what neurophysiologists call plasticity. Plasticity is the ability of neurons through their synapses to have memory, learn, adapt and evolve in response to their environment. I will show that Ovonic memories, both optical and electrical, have rich and deep new physics that make them cognitive devices and therefore open up a huge new field of chalcogenide-based intelligent computers, intelligence that works in a similar manner to the brain. We have shown that the plasticity necessary for an intelligent opto-electronic computer is a function of energy pulses, whether electrical or optical.

Among the various alternative fuels, hydrogen is the only fuel, which is clean and sustainable. More importantly, if hydrogen is produced from renewable resources, virtually no CO 2 emissions are produced. Texaco Ovonic Hydrogen Systems (TOHS) has converted a gasoline internal combustion engine (ICE) hybrid vehicle to a hydrogen vehicle using its advanced metal hydride storage. Compared to its gasoline counterpart, the converted vehiole demonstrated a reduction in CO 2 tailpipe emission of 220 grams per mile. Ovonic metal hydride hydrogen storage systems consist of three critical elements: (1) an advanced metal hydride alloy, (2) an efficient heat exchanger and (3) a lightweight fiber wrapped pressure container. A 50 liter Ovonic metal hydride storage vessel installed in the vehicle provides a storage capacity of 3 kg hydrogen and a driving range of 130-150 miles.

The development of Ovonic nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries developed by Ovonic Battery Company, a Subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices, has led to the introduction of the first commercial hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight. All three American domestic automakers have also announced plans to produce HEV sport utility vehicles, more suited to the American market, and with an even greater positive impact on fuel conservation and environmental emissions. Novel water-cooled Ovonic Ni-MH BEV batteries aimed at these applications have been developed with a specific power in excess of 1000 W/kg. Full systems development has provided for production prototype battery packs complete with mechanical packaging, thermal management, electrical power interconnects, and electronic controls meeting vehicle manufacturer requirements. Our manufacturing joint venture with Chevron Texaco, Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems, is expanding its production facilities to meet the market needs for hybrid electric vehicles in North America.

This paper describes a basic new scientific and technological approach for information and computing use. It is based on Ovonic cognitive devices that utilize an atomically engineered Ovonic chalcogenide material as the active medium. We demonstrate how such a device possesses many unique functions including an intrinsic neurosynaptic functionality that permits the processing of information in a manner analogous to that of biological neurons and synapses. Our Ovonic cognitive devices can not only accomplish conventional binary computing, but are capable of non-binary generation of information, storage, encryption, higher mathematics, modular arithmetic and factoring. Uniquely, almost all of these functions can be accomplished in a single nanosized device. These devices and systems are robust at room temperature (and above). They are non-volatile and also can include other volatile devices such as the Ovonic Threshold Switch and Ovonic multi-terminal threshold and memory devices that can replace transistors.

Hydrogen is called the “ultimate fuel.” It is also the ultimate element. It was born in the Big Bang and almost all of known matter is composed of it. Its condensation into a star, our sun, through fusion, provides us the energy and the photons which power our earth and which we can utilize in the form of photovoltaics to break apart water and generate hydrogen as an energy source on earth.The hydrogen economy is here. It has been initiated by the electric and hybrid vehicles which depend upon it for their operation through nickel metal hydride batteries and hydrogen as a fuel for the internal combustion engine and by outwitting the Carnot cycle for use as a fuel cell.I will discuss the complete system needed for the hydrogen economy from generation to storage to infrastructure and use. Any one part of this loop is necessary but not sufficient.Our global economy is based upon energy and the societal needs for a nonpolluting, non-climate change fuel which does not require strategic military defense as does oil. The transition from fossil fuels to hydrogen is of revolutionary import not only for its societal impact but also for the new materials science that it absolutely requires in all of its aspects. New science and new technologies build much needed new industries, which provide not only jobs but also feedback on our educational system.Recall that the ages of civilization are known by their materials. Truly, the presentage will be known by the materials that make up the twin pillars of our global economy – energy and information. Therefore, I will address the new science, technology and atomic engineering of the materials so necessary to make positive, realistic and productive this revolutionary transition of energy from its fossil fuel beginnings to the present.

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) and United Solar Systems Corp. (United Solar) are developing lightweight, flexible photovoltaic modules that can replace conventional roofing materials and be economically and aesthetically integrated into residential and commercial buildings. The modules will be fabricated from high-efficiency multi-junction a-Si alloy solar cells developed by ECD and United Solar. These cells are produced on thin, flexible, stainless steel substrates. Two types of products, 1 ft by 10 ft overlapping PV shingles and 1.3 ft by 20 ft PV roof panels are being developed by United Solar and ECD, respectively. United Solar's shingle type design uses a roof mounting procedures similar to those used with conventional asphalt shingles, while ECD's PV panel uses mounting procedures conforming to metal roof systems. Thus, they can be installed on roof sheathings, replacing ordinary shingles or metal roofing panels, on a standard wood roof construction.

The authors have investigated variations in the a-Si deposition process to achieve a high V/sub oc/ a-Si solar cell to be used as the top cell of a triple-junction stacked solar cell. In this investigation, a-Si n-i-p solar cells were deposited on stainless steel substrates in a multichamber RF PECVD deposition system. Different deposition conditions were explored for the intrinsic a-Si layer with the goal of obtaining high V/sub oc/. After process optimization, the authors have achieved a V/sub oc/ of 1.04 V for a-Si n-i-p solar cells with the intrinsic layer deposited at 150/spl deg/C at high hydrogen dilution. This V/sub oc/ is higher than any V/sub oc/ achieved for a single-junction solar cell using a-SiC as the intrinsic layer. This high V/sub oc/ a-Si material is a better choice for the top cell i layer of a triple-junction a-Si alloy solar cell than high bandgap a-SiC alloys.

In order to improve further the economies of scale which are inherent in continuous roll-to-roll amorphous silicon alloy solar cell manufacturing processes, the authors have developed a concept for a serpentine web plasma CVD deposition process to maximize throughput while keeping the size of the deposition chambers small. When this technique is incorporated into a continuous roll-to-roll PV manufacturing process, it will maximize the throughput for a high volume production plant, reduce the machine cost, improve gas utilization, reduce power consumption, and improve the solar cell stability. To demonstrate the serpentine web deposition concept, the authors have constructed a single loop serpentine deposition chamber to deposit an a-Si for n-i-p structure solar cells. During the initial process of optimization, the authors have produced single-junction a-Si solar cells with an 8.6% efficiency, and triple-junction a-Si solar cells with a 9.5% initial efficiency, where the top cell intrinsic layer was deposited in the serpentine deposition chamber.

The engineering principles used to make >20-A-s/sup -1/ intrinsic layers of good-photovoltaic-quality amorphous silicon over large areas are addressed. Deposition equipment was designed and installed in a plasma-assisted CVD (chemical vapor deposition) roll-to-roll processor. Films were made in this machine with gas mixtures containing silane. Same-bandgap tandem solar cells using this material had 8.2% (average) to 8.6% (best cell) conversion efficiencies. >

The V-Ti-Zr-Ni-Cr alloy system has been developed for Ni-MH batteries. The authors discuss alloy characteristics, implications for cell construction, and advances in cycle life performance for a variety of practical conditions. These alloys have high hydrogen storage capacity, low cost, excellent mechanical and chemical properties, and are easy to manufacture. General performance characteristics of these Ni-MH batteries allow drop-in replacement for Ni-Cd batteries. Cycle life has been established at over 400 cycles under aggressive 100% depth of discharge conditions and under several test conditions emphasizing overcharge and deep discharge. Advanced cell designs have achieved over 700 cycles under 100% DOD conditions, with projections that 1000 cycles may be possible. >

Microcrystalline Si p-layers have been widely used in a-Si solar cell technology to achieve high efficiency. To improve the solar cell performance further, the authors have studied the deposition of high quality /spl mu/c-Si p-layer material using a modified VHF plasma enhanced CVD process and consequently have improved the solar cell current. This improvement was primarily in the blue response which leads to a 6-10% improvement in the overall solar cell efficiency. In addition, they have explored the deposition of a-Si at high rates using VHF plasma and compared these VHF i-layers with RF plasma deposited i-layers. With improved deposition conditions, VHF intrinsic layers deposited at a rate up to 15 /spl Aring//s show similar device performance and light stability to VHF and RF i-layers deposited at low rates and show higher stability than RF i-layers deposited at high rates in the same deposition system. A 10.9% efficient single-junction solar cell was fabricated using a VHF deposited i-layer.

The successful introduction of hydrogen for transportation, consumer and military applications will require the simultaneous introduction of small scale hydrogen production-storage and distribution systems for central depot and residential use. These systems will have to be flexible, safe and economical. An integrated photovoltaic-electrolyzer-metal hydride system will meet these requirements. The system makes use of high efficiency, low cost amorphous silicon photovoltaic panels coupled to alkaline electrolysis cell stacks. The produced hydrogen is in turn stored as a metal hydride. The system can be scaled from a few watts to several kilowatts and installed in virtually any location. Metal hydride hydrogen storage is an inherently safe, low-pressure storage method. The system can be designed to be coupled directly to the application device or used to refill other storage containers. It will therefore be applicable to virtually all hydrogen applications such as fuel cells, combustion and chemical processes. The development of economical, small-scale hydrogen production-storage systems, especially utilizing renewable energy sources, will enable the successful introduction of hydrogen applications in the marketplace. This paper addresses the conceptual design, integration and sizing of the system components.

Nickel-metal hydride batteries are in high volume commercial production for mass market portable applications due to an excellent cost to performance ratio, application to a versatile product mix and environmental acceptability. Ovonic Battery Company Inc. (OBC) a subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (ECD) has established the dominant position in Ni-MH batteries by establishing a fundamental patent portfolio, a network of licensees and business affiliates, and continued product improvement based upon its atomic engineering approach. The largest opportunities for Ni-MH market growth are portable power tools, EV, HEV and fuel cell electric vehicles. These applications benefit from improvements in specific energy, cycle life, high temperature performance, activation/formation, and in particular specific power. Advances in materials technology have enabled performance improvements in specific energy (100 Wh/kg), specific power (1000 W/kg), high temperature operation, charge retention, cycle life and voltage stability. While electrode configuration and packaging are important factors in cell design, at the core of next generation Ni-MH technology are the continuing fundamental improvements to the metal hydride and nickel hydroxide active materials. In this paper, advances in performance, applications and cost reduction are discussed with particular emphasis on the improved proprietary metal hydride and nickel hydroxide materials that make such advances possible.

Performance data for batteries based on multicomponent hydrogen storage alloys using the principles of atomic engineering are presented. In particular, the successful scale-up of this technology for electric vehicle applications is shown. >

Hydrogen $({\mathrm{H}}_{2})$ dilution of the source gas is known to be a key factor in producing hydrogenated amorphous silicon films that demonstrate a high degree of optoelectronic stability. In this work, we investigate, using Raman spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM), whether microstructural differences exist between such films and those made with no ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ dilution (i.e., that have greater instabilities). The key variable is the ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ dilution, which ranges from none to very high levels, producing amorphous and microcrystalline silicon films. The TEM results show that embedded within the amorphous matrix are chainlike objects (CLO's) having \ensuremath{\sim}3 nm widths, \ensuremath{\sim}30 nm lengths, and showing a high degree of order along their length. Such order implies vanishing levels of bond-angle distortion (BAD). These CLO's are present in all samples investigated, but their density increases with the level of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ dilution. The Raman spectra show a TO band centered at $490 {\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ $(37\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}3{\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ full width). Quantitative analysis shows this band to exist in all samples investigated, but increases in magnitude with increasing ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ dilution. In the highest dilutions when microcrystallites are observed, the band is distinctly evident. Its position and width are also consistent with very low (crystallinelike) levels of BAD \ensuremath{\sim}0\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}. It is thus likely the $490 {\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ Raman band is a signature of the intermediate ordered CLO's.

Phase change technology has progressed from the original invention of Ovshinsky to become the leading choice for rewritable optical disks. ECD's early work in phase change materials and methods for operating in a direct overwrite fashion were crucial to the successes that have been achieved. Since the introduction of the first rewritable phase change products in 1991, the market has expanded from CD-RW into rewritable DVD with creative work going on worldwide. Phase change technology is ideally suited to address the continuous demand for increased storage capacity. First, laser beams can be focused to ever-smaller spot sizes using shorter wavelength lasers and higher performance optics. Blue lasers are now commercially viable and high numerical aperture and near field lenses have been demonstrated. Second, multilevel approaches can be used to increase capacity by a factor of three or more with concomitant increases in data transfer rate. In addition, ECD has decreased manufacturing costs through the use of innovative production technology. These factors combine to accelerate the widespread use of phase change technology. As in all our technologies, such as thin film photovoltaics, nickel metal hydride batteries, hydrogen storage systems, fuel cells, electrical memory, etc., we have invented the materials, the products, the production machines and the production processes for high rate, low-cost manufacture.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

We report the case of a 38-year-old man who developed IgA myeloma of donor origin 7 years after allogeneic renal transplant. The diagnosis of multiple myeloma was unequivocal and based on positive results from serum electrophoresis, skeletal survey and bone marrow investigations. The donor origin of the myeloma cells was confirmed by DNA fingerprinting. We believe this is the first reported case of disseminated multiple myeloma of donor origin developing after allogeneic renal transplant and, as such, gives some insight into the natural history and biology of the disease.