Weak Lensing from Space I: Instrumentation and Survey Strategy

A wide field space-based imaging telescope is necessary to fully exploit the technique of observing dark matter via weak gravitational lensing. This first paper in a three part series outlines the survey strategies and relevant instrumental parameters for such a mission. As a concrete example of hardware design, we consider the proposed Supernova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP). Using SNAP engineering models, we quantify the major contributions to this telescope's Point Spread Function (PSF). These PSF contributions are relevant to any similar wide field space telescope. We further show that the PSF of SNAP or a similar telescope will be smaller than current ground-based PSFs, and more isotropic and stable over time than the PSF of the Hubble Space Telescope. We outline survey strategies for two different regimes - a ``wide'' 300 square degree survey and a ``deep'' 15 square degree survey that will accomplish various weak lensing goals including statistical studies and dark matter mapping.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, replaced with Published Versio

An epidemiological study of pleuropulmonary paragonimiasis among pupils in the peri-urban zone of Kumba town, Meme Division, Cameroon

BACKGROUND: Paragonimiasis have previously been reported in two zones of the Southwest Province of Cameroon including the Kupe mountain and Mundani foci. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and epidemiology of paragonimiasis in the peri-urban zone of Kumba, Meme Division, located about 50 km away from the Kupe mountain focus. METHODS: Pupils of several government primary schools in 5 villages around Kumba underwent both parasitologic and clinical investigations in search of signs and symptoms of paragonimiasis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was also searched for in the differential diagnosis.Freshwater crabs from neighbouring streams in the five villages were dissected in search of paragonimus metacercariae. RESULTS: Out of a total of 1482 pupils examined in all five villages, 309 individuals (147 males and 162 females) were recruited for this study based on the presence of one or more signs or symptoms of paragonimiasis. Eggs of Paragonimus africanus were found in stools and/or sputum of pupils from all five villages, giving an overall paragonimus prevalence of 2.56%. There was no significant difference in the disease prevalence between the villages (X(2 )= 8.36, P = 0.08). The prevalence of Paragonimus africanus eggs amongst pupils with symptoms of paragonimiasis was 12.3% (38 of 309). Males were infected more than females (17.0% versus 8.0%), but the difference was not significant (X(2 )= 5.76, P = 0.16). All the 38 paragonimus egg positive subjects presented with cough, 23 (60.53%) complained of chest pain while 16 (42.11%) had haemoptysis. Stool examinations also detected some intestinal parasites including Ascaris lumbricoides (29.45%), Trichuris trichiura (6.47%), Necator americanus (2.27%), Strongyloides stercoralis (1.62%), Enterobius vermicularis (0.65%), and Entamoeba histolytica (4.53%). No case of M. tuberculosis was noted. Out of a total of 85 dissected crabs (Sudanonautes africanus), 6.02 % were infected with paragonimus metacercariae. CONCLUSION: In addition to the two previously described paragonimiasis foci of Kupe mountain and Mundani, the identification of autochthonous cases of paragonimiasis in the peri-urban zone of Kumba town, makes the South West Province the most endemic zone of paragonimiasis in Cameroon at present

Technology transfer offices as boundary spanners in the pre-spin-off process: the case of a hybrid model

Over the past decades, universities have increasingly become ambidextrous organizations reconciling scientific and commercial missions. In order to manage this ambidexterity, technology transfer offices (TTOs) were established in most universities. This paper studies a specific, often implemented, but rather understudied type of TTO, namely a hybrid TTO model uniting centralized and decentralized levels. Employing a qualitative research design, we examine how and why the two TTO levels engage in diverse boundary spanning activities to help nascent spin-off companies move through the pre-spin-off process. Our research identifies differences in the types of boundary spanning activities that centralized and decentralized TTOs perform and in the parties they engage with. We find geographical, technological and organizational proximity to be important antecedents of the TTOs’ engagement in external and internal boundary spanning activities. These results have important implications for both academics and practitioners interested in university technology transfer through spin-off creation

Hospital and outpatient clinic utilization among older people in the 3-5 years following the initiation of continuing care: a longitudinal cohort study

Background: Few studies have investigated the subsequent rate of hospital and outpatient clinic utilization in those who receive continuing care and have documented frequent usage over one year. Such knowledge may be helpful in identifying those who would benefit from preventive interventions. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the subsequent rate of hospital and outpatient clinic utilization among older people with 0, 1, 2, 3 or more hospital stays in the first year following the initiation of continuing care. A further aim was to compare these groups regarding demographic data, health complaints, functional and cognitive ability, informal care and mortality. Methods: A total of 1079 people, aged 65 years or older, who received a decision regarding the initiation of continuing care during the years 2001, 2002 or 2003 were investigated. Four groups were created based on whether they had 0, 1, 2 or >= 3 hospital stays in the first year following the initiation of continuing care and were investigated regarding the rate of hospital and outpatient clinic utilization in the subsequent 3-5 years. Results: Fifty seven percent of the sample had no hospital stay during the first year following the initiation of continuing care, 20% had 1 stay, 10% had 2 stays and 13% had three or more hospital stays (range: 3-13). Those with >= 3 hospital stays in the first year continued to have the significantly highest rate of hospital and outpatient care utilization in the subsequent years. This group accounted for 57% of hospital stays in the first year, 27% in the second year and 18% in the third year. In this group the risk of having >= 3 hospital stays in the second year was 27% and 12% in the third year. Conclusions: There is a clear need for interventions targeted on prevention of frequent hospital and outpatient clinic utilization among those who are high users of hospital care in the first year after the initiation of continuing care. Perhaps an increased availability of medically skilled staff in the day to day care of these people in the municipalities could prevent frequent hospital and outpatient clinic utilization, especially hospital readmissions

University–industry linkages and academic engagements: individual behaviours and firms’ barriers. Introduction to the special section

The article introduces the special section on “University–industry linkages and academic engagements: Individual behaviours and firms’ barriers”. We first revisit the latest developments of the literature and policy interest on university–industry research. We then build upon the extant literature and unpack the concept of academic engagement by further exploring the heterogeneity of UI linkages along a set of dimensions and actors involved. These are: (1) Incentives and behaviours of individual academic entrepreneurs; (2) Firms’ barriers to cooperation with public research institutions; (3) Individual behaviours, incentives and organizational bottlenecks in late developing countries. We summarize the individual contributions along these dimensions. There are overlooked individual characteristics that affect the degree of engagement of academics and scholars in cooperating with other organizations, of which gender and the non-academic background of individuals are most crucial. The notion of academic engagement should be enlarged to aspects that go beyond the commercialization or patenting of innovation, but embrace social and economic impact more at large. From the perspective of the firm, barriers to innovation might exert an effect on the likelihood to cooperate with universities and public research institutes, most especially to cope with lack of finance or access to frontier knowledge. We finally propose a research agenda that addresses the challenges ahead

Correlations between psychometric schizotypy, scan path length, fixations on the eyes and face recognition.

Psychometric schizotypy in the general population correlates negatively with face recognition accuracy, potentially due to deficits in inhibition, social withdrawal, or eye-movement abnormalities. We report an eye-tracking face recognition study in which participants were required to match one of two faces (target and distractor) to a cue face presented immediately before. All faces could be presented with or without paraphernalia (e.g., hats, glasses, facial hair). Results showed that paraphernalia distracted participants, and that the most distracting condition was when the cue and the distractor face had paraphernalia but the target face did not, while there was no correlation between distractibility and participants' scores on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). Schizotypy was negatively correlated with proportion of time fixating on the eyes and positively correlated with not fixating on a feature. It was negatively correlated with scan path length and this variable correlated with face recognition accuracy. These results are interpreted as schizotypal traits being associated with a restricted scan path leading to face recognition deficits