The NO-NO2 system at laboratory surfaces

Experiments on formation and excitation of NO2 and NO molecules at (and near) laboratory surfaces of varying degrees of characterization are reviewed. On some transition metals NO is desorbed in the B sub 2 pi state, from which it radiates the familiar beta (B yields x) bands. In contrast while an ONO intermediate is inferred from isotope interchange measurements on platinum, neither ground state nor excited NO2 has been found to be desorbed under the relatively limited number of laboratory conditions so far investigated

Optimization of microwave radiometric systems for earth resource surveys Final report

Optimization of passive microwave radiometric systems for earth resource surveys from ground and aircraft based measurement

Surface-catalyzed recombination into excited electronic, vibrational, rotational, and kinetic energy states: A review

Laboratory experiments in which recombined CO, CO2, D2O, OH, N2, H2, and O2 molecules desorb from surfaces in excited internal and translational states are briefly reviewed. Unequilibrated distributions predominate from the principally catalytic metal substrates so far investigated. Mean kinetic energies have been observed up to approx. 3x, and in some cases less than, wall-thermal; the velocity distributions generally vary with emission angle, with non-Lambertian particle fluxes. The excitation state populations are found to depend on surface impurities, in an as yet unexplained way

Infrared emission from desorbed NO2(*) and NO(*)

Infrared photons from the radiative cascade accompany both the gas phase NO2 continuum chemiluminescence (which originates from its 2B2 and 2B1 states) and the NO beta bands. When these upper electronic states are excited by recombination/desorption at surfaces of low Earth orbiting spacecraft, similar IR emission spectrums will be observed. The principal NO2 features (other than the long wavelength tail of its electronic transitions) are the nu sub 3 fundamental sequence near 6.2 microns and nu sub 1 + nu sub 3 intercombination bands near 3.6 microns; NO would emit the delta v=1 and delta v=2 systems above 5.3 and 2.7 microns. Because of the long radiative lifetimes of the upper vibrational states, the infrared radiances in projections parallel to the vehicle surface (which we estimate) are substantially less than those of the visible and ultraviolet glows

Leadership of healthcare commissioning networks in England : a mixed-methods study on clinical commissioning groups

Objective: To explore the relational challenges for general practitioner (GP) leaders setting up new network-centric commissioning organisations in the recent health policy reform in England, we use innovation network theory to identify key network leadership practices that facilitate healthcare innovation. Design: Mixed-method, multisite and case study research. Setting: Six clinical commissioning groups and local clusters in the East of England area, covering in total 208 GPs and 1 662 000 population. Methods: Semistructured interviews with 56 lead GPs, practice managers and staff from the local health authorities (primary care trusts, PCT) as well as various healthcare professionals; 21 observations of clinical commissioning group (CCG) board and executive meetings; electronic survey of 58 CCG board members (these included GPs, practice managers, PCT employees, nurses and patient representatives) and subsequent social network analysis. Main outcome measures: Collaborative relationships between CCG board members and stakeholders from their healthcare network; clarifying the role of GPs as network leaders; strengths and areas for development of CCGs. Results: Drawing upon innovation network theory provides unique insights of the CCG leaders’ activities in establishing best practices and introducing new clinical pathways. In this context we identified three network leadership roles: managing knowledge flows, managing network coherence and managing network stability. Knowledge sharing and effective collaboration among GPs enable network stability and the alignment of CCG objectives with those of the wider health system (network coherence). Even though activities varied between commissioning groups, collaborative initiatives were common. However, there was significant variation among CCGs around the level of engagement with providers, patients and local authorities. Locality (sub) groups played an important role because they linked commissioning decisions with patient needs and brought the leaders closer to frontline stakeholders. Conclusions: With the new commissioning arrangements, the leaders should seek to move away from dyadic and transactional relationships to a network structure, thereby emphasising on the emerging relational focus of their roles. Managing knowledge mobility, healthcare network coherence and network stability are the three clinical leadership processes that CCG leaders need to consider in coordinating their network and facilitating the development of good clinical commissioning decisions, best practices and innovative services. To successfully manage these processes, CCG leaders need to leverage the relational capabilities of their network as well as their clinical expertise to establish appropriate collaborations that may improve the healthcare services in England. Lack of local GP engagement adds uncertainty to the system and increases the risk of commissioning decisions being irrelevant and inefficient from patient and provider perspectives

Effective Theory for Trapped Few-Fermion Systems

We apply the general principles of effective field theories to the construction of effective interactions suitable for few- and many-body calculations in a no-core shell model framework. We calculate the spectrum of systems with three and four two-component fermions in a harmonic trap. In the unitary limit, we find that three-particle results are within 10% of known semi-analytical values even in small model spaces. The method is very general, and can be readily extended to other regimes, more particles, different species (e.g., protons and neutrons in nuclear physics), or more-component fermions (as well as bosons). As an illustration, we present calculations of the lowest-energy three-fermion states away from the unitary limit and find a possible inversion of parity in the ground state in the limit of trap size large compared to the scattering length. Furthermore, we investigate the lowest positive-parity states for four fermions, although we are limited by the dimensions we can currently handle in this case.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Effectiveness of a telehealth and telecare learning resource within an undergraduate nursing curriculum

This paper discusses the impact of a telehealth and telecare eLearning resource on a cohort of undergraduate nursing students in the United Kingdom. The resource was designed to raise awareness of telehealth and telecare applications, and to introduce learners to some of the drivers, challenges and research evidence associated with these interventions. Methods: Questionnaires were constructed that explored students’ views on the resource itself, and on their knowledge of, and attitudes towards, telehealth and telecare. Both questionnaires included a 5-point Likert scale containing items linked to knowledge, awareness and opinions of telehealth and telecare. A pre-resource questionnaire provided a baseline measure that was compared subsequently with results from a post-resource questionnaire to identify the impact of completing the learning. Results: 104 students completed the learning resource. 51 students (49%) completed either the pre- or post-course questionnaire, with 44 (42%) completing both questionnaires. Feedback from students suggested high levels of satisfaction with the quality and utility of the resource. Responses to items in the knowledge and attitudes Likert scale were analysed primarily using non-parametric tests to identify any changes in responses before and after completing the resource. Wilcoxon signed-rank testing demonstrated statistically significant changes in responses in all but one of the Likert items, suggesting an increase in students’ positive attitudes towards telehealth and telecare and their knowledge related to the topic. Conclusions: The research suggests that pre-registration nursing students value the opportunity to learn more about telehealth and telecare, and that a well-designed resource can increase awareness and knowledge

Metabolomics on integrated circuit

We have demonstrated a chip-based diagnostics tool for the quantification of metabolites, using specific enzymes, to study enzyme kinetics and calculate the Michaelis-Menten constant. An array of 256×256 ion-sensitive field effect transistors (ISFETs) fabricated in a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process is used for this prototype. We have used hexokinase enzyme reaction on the ISFET CMOS chip with glucose concentration in the physiological range of 0.05 mM – 231 mM and successfully studied the enzyme kinetics of hexokinase in detail. This will promote future research towards multiplexing enzyme-based metabolite quantification on a single chip, ultimately opening a pathway towards a personal metabolome machine