Proposal for an experiment to search for Randall-Sundrum type corrections to Newton's law of gravitation

String theory, as well as the string inspired brane-world models such as the Randall-Sundrum (RS) one, suggest a modification of Newton's law of gravitation at small distance scales. Search for modifications of standard gravity is an active field of research in this context. It is well known that short range corrections to gravity would violate the Newton-Birkhoff theorem. Based on calculations of RS type non-Newtonian forces for finite size spherical bodies, we propose a torsion balance based experiment to search for the effects of violation of this celebrated theorem valid in Newtonian gravity as well as the general theory of relativity. We explain the main principle behind the experiment and provide detailed calculations suggesting optimum values of the parameters of the experiment. The projected sensitivity is sufficient to probe the Randall-Sundrum parameter up to 10 microns.Comment: 4 pages and 5 figures, figures improved, minor clarifications and few references added, final version to appear in PRD (rapid communications

Using SERVQUAL for assessing and improving patient satisfaction at a rural health facility in Pakistan.

A cross-sectional study of Patient satisfaction with care was conducted over a period of 1 year from March 2004 to March 2005 in a secondary-level hospital in a peri-urban area of Karachi, Pakistan. Using the SERVQUAL tool and exit interviews, data were collected quarterly from a total of 1533 Patients. Results sharing and capacity-building workshops were arranged during the 4 phases of the survey to sensitize the staff of the hospital to work towards improving Patient satisfaction. The level of satisfaction of the Patients with the outPatient health services provided showed a gradual increase from 34.4% to 82.0% over the 1-year period

Non-relativistic limit of Randall-Sundrum model: solutions, applications and constraints

In the Randall-Sundrum model with one brane, we found the approximate and exact solutions for gravitational potentials and accelerations of test bodies in these potentials for different geometrical configurations. We applied these formulas for calculation of the gravitational interaction between two spheres and found the approximate and exact expressions for the relative force corrections to the Newton's gravitational force. We demonstrated that the difference between relative force corrections for the approximate and exact cases increases with the parameter $l$ (for the fixed distance $r$ between centers of the spheres). On the other hand, this difference increases with decreasing of the distance between the centers of the spheres (for the fixed curvature scale parameter $l$). We got the upper limit for the curvature scale parameter $l\lesssim 10\, \mu$m. For these values of $l$, the difference between the approximate and exact solutions is negligible.Comment: LaTex 11 pages, 3 figure

Double Carbon−Hydrogen Activation of 2-Vinylpyridine: Synthesis of Tri- and Pentanuclear Clusters Containing the μ-NC\u3csub\u3e5\u3c/sub\u3eH\u3csub\u3e4\u3c/sub\u3eCH═C Ligand

Reactions of 2-vinylpyridine with the triruthenium complexes [Ru3(CO)12] and [Ru3(CO)10(μ-dppm)] leads to a previously unknown double carbon−hydrogen bond activation of the β-carbon of the vinyl group to afford the pentaruthenium and triruthenium complexes [Ru5(CO)14(μ4-C5H4CH═C)(μ-H)2] (1) and [Ru3Cl(CO)5(μ-CO)(μ-dppm)(μ3-NC5H4CH═C)(μ-H)] (2), respectively. Crystal structures reveal two different forms of bridging of the dimetalated 2-vinylpyridyl ligand, capping a square face in 1 and a triangular face in 2

Cab transfer process improvement at an automotive manufacturing facility

This project is related to the improvement of cab transfer process from Painted Body Storage (PBS) area to General Assembly (GA) line. The objectives of this project are to eliminate the root cause of cab defect and to streamline the transfer process with the reduction of process cycle time. From the current process study, it is found that the lifting method causes the quality defect to the cab and the usage of different type of trolley between PBS and GA contribute to the high cycle time. The new process design has been introduced from the findings with the use of towing method and the use of common trolley for both PBS area and GA line. With the new and improved cab transfer process, the cab changing process can be eliminated. Hence, the number of operator required has been reduced, from two operators to only one operator. A trial run has been conducted with a prototype trolley and a forklift. The objectives of this project are fulfilled with the new towing method that eliminate the quality defect and the use of common trolley for both PBS and GA line resulting new cycle time of 7.13 minutes per unit from 9.77 minutes per unit. Further studies are needed for commissioning and monitoring to the new cab transfer process with the actual trolley and tow tug or buggy

IMPACT OF TEACHERS' MINDFULNESS AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS TOWARDS CLASSROOM CLIMATE ON STUDENT OUTCOMES WHILE LEARNING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE IN SRI LANKA

Public education system of Sri Lanka suffers from poor education outcomes and wide disparities in academic achievement across schools, and studies reveal that students’ outcomes are best when the teachers are qualified in both subjects, they are assigned to teach and in pedagogy. At present teacher stress has become a critical issue in the educational field which affects negatively towards classroom climate; teacher student relationship, teacher creativity, teaching methodologies and student outcomes, while a positive classroom climate results in better academic, social, and emotional outcomes for students. Though the studies have revealed that teacher can improve their well-being, as well as the classroom climate and the student outcomes through the use of mindfulness practices which was taught by the Buddha 2600 years ago, any convincing evidence of the influence of both, teachers’ mindfulness and professional skills on classroom climate towards student outcomes in Sri Lanka or any other country cannot be found. To fulfil that gap, this study explored the influence of teachers’ mindfulness and professional skills on classroom climate towards student outcomes in the government schools in Sri Lanka, using pre-test and post-test experimental design. Data was collected before and after 8-week intervention period, from a sample consisted of 230 students and nine teachers of English, that were observed quantitatively. Findings revealed that teachers’ mindfulness and professional skills as two of the most influential factors that decide the student outcomes directly and via classroom climate of a school, that offer valuable recommendations to the education system in Sri Lanka, in order to enhance student academic and behavioural outcomes by taking steps to improve the professional skills of teachers and the mindful living of both teachers and students.  Article visualizations

IMPACT OF TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL SKILLS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT WHILE LEARNING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE IN SRI LANKA

The public education system of Sri Lanka suffers from poor education outcomes and wide disparities in academic achievement across schools, and studies have revealed that students’ outcomes are best when the teachers are qualified in both, the subjects they are assigned to teach and in pedagogy. Though the studies have revealed that student outcomes can be improved by improving the professional skills of teachers, any convincing evidence of the influence of teachers’ professional skills on student outcomes in Sri Lanka cannot be found. To fulfil that gap, this study explored the influence of teachers’ professional skills on student outcomes in government schools in Sri Lanka, using the pretest, posttest experimental design. Data were collected before and after the 8-week intervention period, from a sample consisting of 102 students and four teachers of English, that were observed quantitatively. Findings revealed that teachers’ professional skills as one of the most influential factors that decide the student outcomes directly of a school, which offer valuable recommendations to the education system in Sri Lanka, in order to enhance student outcomes by taking steps to improve the professional skills of teachers.  Article visualizations

Precursors, black holes, and a locality bound

We revisit the problem of precursors in the AdS/CFT correspondence. Identification of the precursors is expected to improve our understanding of the tension between holography and bulk locality and of the resolution of the black hole information paradox. Previous arguments that the precursors are large, undecorated Wilson loops are found to be flawed. We argue that the role of precursors should become evident when one saturates a certain locality bound. The spacetime uncertainty principle is a direct consequence of this bound.Comment: 26 pages, 8 figs; reference added, minor clarification in sec. 2; incorrect draft mistakenly used in version

Circulating Inflammatory Markers May Mediate the Relationship between Healthy Plant-Based Diet and Metabolic Phenotype Obesity in Women:A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: It has been posited that both metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) and metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUHO) could be emergent from diet and inflammatory markers. Thus, we sought to investigate the influence of plant-based diet on MHO and MUHO phenotypes mediated by inflammatory markers in overweight and obese women. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 289 women aged ≥18 years, with a body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m(2). Dietary intake was measured using 147 item food frequency questionnaire, as well as anthropometrics and biochemistry panel, in all participants. Metabolic health phenotypes were considered using Karelis score, while plant-based diet indices (PDI) were evaluated based on 18 food groups, where healthy and unhealthy PDI were identified. RESULTS: Accordingly, 26.9% of women had MHO and 73.1% had MUHO phenotypes. After adjusting for potential confounders, TGF-β1 had a significant inverse association with hPDI (β: −0.28; 95% CI: 452.99, −85.25; P: 0.004). Moreover, we found that women with higher hPDI had lower odds of MUHO (OR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.39, 2.30; P: 0.03). Regarding the mediatory effect of the inflammatory markers, TGF-β1 (P: 0.73), IL-β1 (P: 0.14), and MCP1 (P: 0.51) played a role in decreasing the odds of MUHO among hPDI tertiles. CONCLUSION: There was a significant inverse relationship between adherence to hPDI and MUHO phenotype in overweight and obese Iranian women. This association appeared to be mediated by TGF-β1, IL-β1, and MCP1