18,661 research outputs found
Cross-sectional and prospective associations between cognitive appraisals and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms following stroke
This study examined cross-sectional and prospective associations between cognitive appraisals and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms following stroke. While in hospital, stroke patients (n=81) completed questionnaires assessing cognitive appraisals (i.e., negative cognitions about the self, negative cognitions about the world, and self-blame) and PTSD symptoms. PTSD symptoms were assessed again 3 months later when all patients had been discharged from hospital (n=70). Significant correlations were found between the time 1 measures of negative cognitions about the self and the world, but not self-blame, and the severity of PTSD symptoms measured at time 1 and at time 2. Regression analyses revealed that cognitive appraisals explained a significant amount of variance in the severity of PTSD symptoms at time 1, with negative cognitions about the self-emerging as a significant predictor. In contrast, time 1 cognitive appraisals were unable to explain additional variance in time 2 PTSD severity over and above that explained by time 1 PTSD severity. The findings therefore provide only weak support for Ehlers and Clark's cognitive model of PTSD
Low-background temperature sensors fabricated on parylene substrates
Temperature sensors fabricated from ultra-low radioactivity materials have
been developed for low-background experiments searching for neutrinoless
double-beta decay and the interactions of WIMP dark matter. The sensors consist
of electrical traces photolithographically-patterned onto substrates of
vapor-deposited parylene. They are demonstrated to function as expected, to do
so reliably and robustly, and to be highly radio-pure. This work is a
proof-of-concept study of a technology that can be applied to broad class of
electronic circuits used in low-background experiments
Feasibility of using neutron radiography to inspect the Space Shuttle solid rocket booster aft skirt, forward skirt and frustum. Part 1: Summary report
The space shuttle's solid rocket boosters (SRB) include components made primarily of aluminum that are parachuted back for retrieval from the ocean and refurbished for repeated usage. Nondestructive inspection methods used on these aging parts to reduce the risk of unforeseen problems include x-ray, ultrasonics, and eddy current. Neutron radiography tests on segments of an SRB component show that entrapped moisture and naturally occurring aluminum corrosion can be revealed by neutron radiography even if present in only small amounts. Voids in sealant can also be evaluated. Three alternatives are suggested to follow-up this study: (1) take an SRB component to an existing neutron radiography system; (2) take an existing mobile neutron radiography system to the NASA site; or (3) plan a dedicated system custom designed for NASA applications
Large Pseudo-Counts and -Norm Penalties Are Necessary for the Mean-Field Inference of Ising and Potts Models
Mean field (MF) approximation offers a simple, fast way to infer direct
interactions between elements in a network of correlated variables, a common,
computationally challenging problem with practical applications in fields
ranging from physics and biology to the social sciences. However, MF methods
achieve their best performance with strong regularization, well beyond Bayesian
expectations, an empirical fact that is poorly understood. In this work, we
study the influence of pseudo-count and -norm regularization schemes on
the quality of inferred Ising or Potts interaction networks from correlation
data within the MF approximation. We argue, based on the analysis of small
systems, that the optimal value of the regularization strength remains finite
even if the sampling noise tends to zero, in order to correct for systematic
biases introduced by the MF approximation. Our claim is corroborated by
extensive numerical studies of diverse model systems and by the analytical
study of the -component spin model, for large but finite . Additionally
we find that pseudo-count regularization is robust against sampling noise, and
often outperforms -norm regularization, particularly when the underlying
network of interactions is strongly heterogeneous. Much better performances are
generally obtained for the Ising model than for the Potts model, for which only
couplings incoming onto medium-frequency symbols are reliably inferred.Comment: 25 pages, 17 figure
A benign, low Z electron capture agent for negative ion TPCs
We have identified nitromethane (CHNO) as an effective electron
capture agent for negative ion TPCs (NITPCs).
We present drift velocity and longitudinal diffusion measurements for
negative ion gas mixtures using nitromethane as the capture agent.
Not only is nitromethane substantially more benign than the only other
identified capture agent, CS, but its low atomic number will enable the use
of the NITPC as a photoelectric X{}-ray polarimeter in the 1{}-10 keV band
Casimir-Polder forces, boundary conditions and fluctuations
We review different aspects of the atom-atom and atom-wall Casimir-Polder
forces. We first discuss the role of a boundary condition on the interatomic
Casimir-Polder potential between two ground-state atoms, and give a physically
transparent interpretation of the results in terms of vacuum fluctuations and
image atomic dipoles. We then discuss the known atom-wall Casimir-Polder force
for ground- and excited-state atoms, using a different method which is also
suited for extension to time-dependent situations. Finally, we consider the
fluctuation of the Casimir-Polder force between a ground-state atom and a
conducting wall, and discuss possible observation of this force fluctuation.Comment: 5 page
A Search for Low Surface Brightness Structure Around Compact Narrow Emission Line Galaxies
As the most extreme members of the rapidly evolving faint blue galaxy
population at intermediate redshift, the compact narrow emission line galaxies
(CNELGs) are intrinsically luminous (-22 < M_B < -18) with narrow emission
linewidths (30 < \sigma < 125 km/s). Their nature is heavily debated: they may
be low-mass starbursting galaxies that will fade to present-day dwarf galaxies
or bursts of star formation temporarily dominating the flux of more massive
galaxies, possibly related to in situ bulge formation or the formation of cores
of galaxies. We present deep, high-quality (~0.6 - 0.8 arcsec) images with CFHT
of 27 CNELGs. One galaxy shows clear evidence for a tidal tail; the others are
not unambiguously embedded in galactic disks. Approximately 55% of the CNELGS
have sizes consistent with local dwarfs of small-to-intermediate sizes, while
45% have sizes consistent with large dwarfs or disks galaxies. At least 4
CNELGs cannot harbor substantial underlying disk material; they are
low-luminosity galaxies at the present epoch (M_B > -18). Conversely, 15 are
not blue enough to fade to low-luminosity dwarfs (M_B > -15.2). The majority of
the CNELGs are consistent with progenitors of intermediate-luminosity dwarfs
and low-luminosity spiral galaxies with small disks. CNELGs are a heterogeneous
progenitor population with significant fractions (up to 44%) capable of fading
into today's faint dwarfs (M_B > -15.2), while 15 to 85% may only experience an
apparently extremely compact CNELG phase at intermediate redshift but remain
more luminous galaxies at the present epoch.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures, emulateapj, published in Ap
Search for correlation effects in linear chains of trapped ions
We report a precise search for correlation effects in linear chains of 2 and
3 trapped Ca+ ions. Unexplained correlations in photon emission times within a
linear chain of trapped ions have been reported, which, if genuine, cast doubt
on the potential of an ion trap to realize quantum information processing. We
observe quantum jumps from the metastable 3d 2D_{5/2} level for several hours,
searching for correlations between the decay times of the different ions. We
find no evidence for correlations: the number of quantum jumps with separations
of less than 10 ms is consistent with statistics to within errors of 0.05%; the
lifetime of the metastable level derived from the data is consistent with that
derived from independent single-ion data at the level of the experimental
errors 1%; and no rank correlations between the decay times were found with
sensitivity to rank correlation coefficients at the level of |R| = 0.024.Comment: With changes to introduction. 5 pages, including 4 figures. Submitted
to Europhys. Let
Hysterectomy, endometrial ablation, and levonorgestrel releasing intrauterine system (Mirena) for treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding : cost effectiveness analysis
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
- …