Exploring the Relationship Between Pre-School-aged Animated Television and Agriculture: A Content Analysis of Disney Junior\u27s Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Understanding how modern preschool television series are framing agriculture can help agricultural communicators and educators gain insight into what schemata preschoolers have developed about agriculture prior to participation in formal education and non-formal youth programming (such as 4-H). Framing theory and schema theory play a role in a developing child’s absorption and interpretation of television programming content. Considering the potential implications of television consumption by preschoolers, this study aims to use summative content analysis methods to examine how agriculture is framed in current preschool-aged animated television programming. This analysis reviewed two iTunes collections of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, each of which contained five episodes of the show. The two iTunes collections selected — “Mickey and Donald Have a Farm” and “Mickey’s Farm Fun-Fair!” — were chosen because of their farm-centric themes. While content analysis revealed Mickey Mouse Clubhouse does frame agriculture in a positive context, it also uncovered a lack of depth in regard to educational lessons related to production agriculture. Additionally, several inaccuracies and improbable scenarios regarding production livestock, farm machinery and crops were discovered

Comparison of radiation dose, workflow, patient comfort and financial break-even of standard digital radiography and a novel biplanar low-dose X-ray system for upright full-length lower limb and whole spine radiography

Objective: To compare the radiation dose, workflow, patient comfort, and financial break-even of a standard digital radiography and a biplanar low-dose X-ray system. Materials and methods: A standard digital radiography system (Ysio, Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany) was compared with a biplanar X-ray unit (EOS, EOS imaging, Paris, France) consisting of two X-ray tubes and slot-scanning detectors, arranged at an angle of 90° allowing simultaneous vertical biplanar linear scanning in the upright patient position. We compared data of standing full-length lower limb radiographs and whole spine radiographs of both X-ray systems. Results: Dose-area product was significantly lower for radiographs of the biplanar X-ray system than for the standard digital radiography system (e.g. whole spine radiographs; standard digital radiography system: 392.2 ± 231.7cGy*cm2 versus biplanar X-ray system: 158.4 ± 103.8cGy*cm2). The mean examination time was significantly shorter for biplanar radiographs compared with standard digital radiographs (e.g. whole spine radiographs: 449s vs 248s). Patients' comfort regarding noise was significantly higher for the standard digital radiography system. The financial break-even point was 2,602 radiographs/year for the standard digital radiography system compared with 4,077 radiographs/year for the biplanar X-ray unit. Conclusion: The biplanar X-ray unit reduces radiation exposure and increases subjective noise exposure to patients. The biplanar X-ray unit demands a higher number of examinations per year for the financial break-even point, despite the lower labour cost per examination due to the shorter examination tim

Predictions of alpha-decay half-lives based on potentials from self-consistent mean-field models

We present a microscopic model for the calculation of alpha-decay half lives employing potentials obtained from relativistic and non-relativistic self-consistent mean-field models. The nuclear and Coulomb potentials are used to obtain the tunneling probability and, in one model variant, also the knocking frequency. The model contains only one parameter. We compare this approach employing several modern mean-field parametrizations to experimental data and to the semi-empirical Viola-Seaborg systematics. We extrapolate our model to superheavy nuclei where assumptions entering semi-empirical approaches might lose validity.Comment: latex, 15 pages, 4 eps figures, accepted for publication in Nucl. Phys.

A quantitative theory-versus-experiment comparison for the intense laser dissociation of H2+

A detailed theory-versus-experiment comparison is worked out for H$_2^+$ intense laser dissociation, based on angularly resolved photodissociation spectra recently recorded in H.Figger's group. As opposite to other experimental setups, it is an electric discharge (and not an optical excitation) that prepares the molecular ion, with the advantage for the theoretical approach, to neglect without lost of accuracy, the otherwise important ionization-dissociation competition. Abel transformation relates the dissociation probability starting from a single ro-vibrational state, to the probability of observing a hydrogen atom at a given pixel of the detector plate. Some statistics on initial ro-vibrational distributions, together with a spatial averaging over laser focus area, lead to photofragments kinetic spectra, with well separated peaks attributed to single vibrational levels. An excellent theory-versus-experiment agreement is reached not only for the kinetic spectra, but also for the angular distributions of fragments originating from two different vibrational levels resulting into more or less alignment. Some characteristic features can be interpreted in terms of basic mechanisms such as bond softening or vibrational trapping.Comment: submitted to PRA on 21.05.200

Commissioning of a photoelectron spectrometer for soft X ray photon diagnostics at the European XFEL

Commissioning and first operation of an angle-resolved photoelectron spectrometer for non-invasive shot-to-shot diagnostics at the European XFEL soft X-ray beamline are described. The objective with the instrument is to provide the users and operators with reliable pulse-resolved information regarding photon energy and polarization that opens up a variety of applications for novel experiments but also hardware optimization

Indication for the disappearance of reactor electron antineutrinos in the Double Chooz experiment

The Double Chooz Experiment presents an indication of reactor electron antineutrino disappearance consistent with neutrino oscillations. A ratio of 0.944 $\pm$ 0.016 (stat) $\pm$ 0.040 (syst) observed to predicted events was obtained in 101 days of running at the Chooz Nuclear Power Plant in France, with two 4.25 GW$_{th}$ reactors. The results were obtained from a single 10 m$^3$ fiducial volume detector located 1050 m from the two reactor cores. The reactor antineutrino flux prediction used the Bugey4 measurement as an anchor point. The deficit can be interpreted as an indication of a non-zero value of the still unmeasured neutrino mixing parameter \sang. Analyzing both the rate of the prompt positrons and their energy spectrum we find \sang = 0.086 $\pm$ 0.041 (stat) $\pm$ 0.030 (syst), or, at 90% CL, 0.015 $<$ \sang $\ <$ 0.16.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, (new version after PRL referee's comments

Integrating Data Science and Earth Science

This open access book presents the results of three years collaboration between earth scientists and data scientists, in developing and applying data science methods for scientific discovery. The book will be highly beneficial for other researchers at senior and graduate level, interested in applying visual data exploration, computational approaches and scientifc workflows

Double Chooz and a history of reactor θ<inf>13</inf> experiments

This is a contribution paper from the Double Chooz (DC) experiment to the special issue of Nuclear Physics B on the topics of neutrino oscillations, celebrating the recent Nobel prize to Profs. T. Kajita and A.B. McDonald. DC is a reactor neutrino experiment which measures the last neutrino mixing angle θ13. The DC group presented an indication of disappearance of the reactor neutrinos at a baseline of ∼1 km for the first time in 2011 and is improving the measurement of θ13. DC is a pioneering experiment of this research field. In accordance with the nature of this special issue, physics and history of the reactor-θ13 experiments, as well as the Double Chooz experiment and its neutrino oscillation analyses, are reviewed

Improving Prehospital Stroke Services in Rural and Underserved Settings With Mobile Stroke Units

In acute stroke management, time is brain, as narrow therapeutic windows for both intravenous thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy depend on expedient and specialized treatment. In rural settings, patients are often far from specialized treatment centers. Concurrently, financial constraints, cutting of services and understaffing of specialists for many rural hospitals have resulted in many patients being underserved. Mobile Stroke Units (MSU) provide a valuable prehospital resource to rural and remote settings where patients may not have easy access to in-hospital stroke care. In addition to standard ambulance equipment, the MSU is equipped with the necessary tools for diagnosis and treatment of acute stroke or similar emergencies at the emergency site. The MSU strategy has proven to be effective at facilitating time-saving stroke triage decisions. The additional on-board imaging helps to determine whether a patient should be taken to a primary stroke center (PSC) for standard treatment or to a comprehensive stroke center (CSC) for advanced stroke treatment (such as intra-arterial therapy) instead. Diagnosis at the emergency site may prevent additional in-hospital delays in workup, handover and secondary (inter-hospital) transport. MSUs may be adapted to local needs—especially in rural and remote settings—with adjustments in staffing, ambulance configuration, and transport models. Further, with advanced imaging and further diagnostic capabilities, MSUs provide a valuable platform for telemedicine (teleradiology and telestroke) in these underserved areas. As MSU programmes continue to be implemented across the world, optimal and adaptable configurations could be explored