Dedicated front-end electronics for the next generation of linear collider electromagnetic calorimeter

This paper describes an R&D electronic program for the next generation of linear collider electromagnetic calorimeter. After a brief presentation of the requirements, a global scheme of the electronics is given. Then, we describe the three different building blocks developed in 0.35\mum CMOS technology: an amplifier, a comparator and finally the pipelined AD

“It gave me something big in my life to wonder and think about which took over the space … and not MS”: Managing well-being in multiple sclerosis through art-making

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2014 Informa UK Ltd.Background and aim: Individuals living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) often face progressive loss of function, uncertainty and disruption to self-image and valued roles. Previous studies show that creative self-expression is valued by some people living with long-term illness, yet its meaning for people living with MS is unclear. This research study explored the meanings of leisure-based visual art-making for people living with MS. Method: This qualitative study followed guidelines for Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Single semi-structured interviews were conducted with five adults (2 males; 3 females; 40–65 years), recruited from MS Ireland. Findings: Participants valued art-making for contributing to a more satisfying way of life; for filling occupational voids and using time well. Deep immersion offered respite from worry about illness. Creative classes offered social camaraderie and opportunities for learning and development. Art-making processes and products were highly affirmative, increasing emotional well-being and promoting self-worth. Most felt that they expressed valued aspects of self through their art. Art-making appeared to assist with identity maintenance, accommodating functional losses associated with MS whilst opening “new doors”. Conclusion: Art-making offered a multi-faceted means of supporting identity and increasing fulfilment in lives that were restricted in many ways by MS

'They're battle scars, I wear them well': A phenomenological exploration of young women's experiences of building resilience following adversity in adolescence

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Journal of Youth Studies, 13(3), 273 - 290, 2010 [copyright Taylor & Francis], available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13676260903520886.This phenomenological study explored young women's accounts of building resilience following chains of adverse life experiences in adolescence. Six participants were interviewed, aged 20–25 years. Most had, or were receiving, a university education. They described their recovery from adversity as starting with certain pivotal moments, followed by both short-term and longer-term strategies. Short-term strategies tended to offer respite from distress and emotional comfort, increased clarity about their experiences and social affirmation. Recovery involved gaining new perspectives on their adverse situation and recovering a positive self-image through three longer-term strategies. These involved making visible progress in their education, rebuilding relationships with family and friends, and participating in the ‘normalizing’ activities and developmental projects of adolescence. Participants believed that they were stronger and more compassionate although positive achievements co-existed with some regrets. Most perceived the adversity as catalyzing personal growth. These accounts of resilience revealed the complex psychosocial processes and resources available to some adolescents

The enzymic activity of egg-white. Its bearing on the problem of watery-whites

1. The enzymic activity of solutions of thick and thin albumen from normal and watery-white eggs has been studied, using a micro-titration method determining peptide cleavage in terms of the increase in amino nitrogen. 2. Thick or thin albumen alone at pH values ranging from 5.5 to 8.5 suffer no autolysis at 37°, neither can any protein-splitting enzyme be detected at any pH by the addition of gelatin as substrate. 3. The work of Balls and Swenson is criticised on account of insufficient sensitivity of the method employed and the fact that it is such as would fail to distinguish between an increase in acid groups due to lipolytic and due to proteolytic activity. Moreover, the use of casein as a substrate is incapable of differentiating protease from ereptase activity. 4. The presence in egg white of at least two erepsin-like enzymes having different pH optima (approximately 5.5 and 7.0-8.0) has been demonstrated. Whether or not these enzymes play any part in the development of “watery-white” is uncertain but for reasons discussed it would seem unlikely. Some observations upon “watery-white” in eggs are recorded and the problem subjected to a short discussion.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590;300dpi. adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format

Dedicated front-end electronics for the next generation of linear collider electromagnetic calorimeter

présenté par S. ManenThis paper describes an R&D electronic program for the next generation of linear collider electromagnetic calorimeter. After a brief presentation of the requirements, a global scheme of the electronics is given. Then, we describe the three different building blocks developed in 0.35\mum CMOS technology: an amplifier, a comparator and finally the pipelined AD

Magma Design Automation: Component placement on chips; the "holey cheese" problem.

The costs of the fabrication of a chip is partly determined by the wire length needed by the transistors to respect the wiring scheme. The transistors have to be placed without overlap into a prescribed configuration of blockades, i.e. parts of the chipthat are beforehand excluded from positioning by for example some other functional component, and holes, i.e. the remaining free area on the chip. A method to minimize the wire length when the free area is a simply connected domain has already been implemented by Magma, but the placement problem becomes much more complex when the free area is not a simply connected domain anymore, forming a ``holey cheese''. One of the approaches of the problem in this case is to first cluster the transistors into so-called macro's in such a way that closely interconnected transistors stay together, and that the macro's can be fit into the holes. One way to carry out the clustering is to use a graph clustering algorithm, the so-called Markov Cluster algorithm. Another way is to combine the placement method of Magma on a rectangular area of the same size as the total size of the holes, and a min cut-max flow algorithm to divide that rectangle into more or less rectangular macro's in such a way that as little wires as possible are cut. It is now possible to formulate the Quadratic Assignment Problem that remains after clustering the original problem to one with 100 up to 1000 macros. There exists a lot of literature on finding the global minimum of the costs, but nowadays computational possibilities are still too restrictive to find an optimal solution within a reasonable amount of time and computational memory. however, we believe it is possible to find a solution that leads to a acceptable local minimum of the costs

The bodily experience of cerebral palsy: a journey to self-awareness.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to describe the lived bodily experience of cerebral palsy (CP). METHOD: This was a descriptive phenomenological inquiry. Ten participants were interviewed about their bodily experiences of living with CP. Interviews were semi-structured around pain and fatigue. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify themes. RESULTS: The bodily experience of CP centered on issues of fatigue and pain as a feeling of muscle soreness. An overwhelming amount of the discussion on fatigue emphasized the fatigue that occurs with walking and prolonged activity. Self-awareness of the individuals\u27 own bodies and adapting activity to continue to participate in various aspects of their lives emerged as the most important theme. Some participants used strategies to manage their pain or fatigue; other participants were not yet fully aware of how to recognize signs of fatigue and/or how to adapt their activities. CONCLUSIONS: Self-awareness appears to be an important process to be fostered by service providers and parents. Specifically, encouraging youth with CP to be aware of their own bodies and the effects (positive and negative) of activity on pain and fatigue should be incorporated into transition programs as the individual becomes responsible for his or her own health care needs. Implications for Rehabilitation Fatigue is a major concern for some youth and young adults with cerebral palsy. Adolescents and young adults with cerebral palsy use a variety of techniques (including adapting or restricting activity and building in rest breaks) to manage fatigue. The process of self-awareness should be fostered by health care professionals leading up to and during transition from pediatric to adult care. Clinical conversations should explore the role of exercise, adaptive equipment, rest and other strategies for dealing with fatigue with a focus on understanding each client\u27s needs individually

‘Being’ in the coaching world: new insights on youth performance coaching from an interpretative phenomenological approach

Since Heidegger's influential text; Being and time (1927/2005), the phenomenological question of what it means to ‘be’ has generated a vast body of work. This paper reports data from a phenomenological study that investigated what it means to ‘be’ a youth performance coach. An overview of the interpretive phenomenological methods used is followed by presentation of coaches and data. Data analysis resulted in the identification of three constituent ‘essences’ of youth performance coaching: (i) care; (ii) a commitment to educate athletes authentically for corporeal challenges to come; and (iii) working with others to achieve a specialised corporeal excellence. The three identified essences manifest themselves in a broad lifeworld that includes settings on and off the field of play (FOP). Given the very different insights into the practice of coaching that emerge from this study, we argue it would be useful for future studies of coaching practice and coach education to extend their focus to take into account coaches' wider lives both on and off the FOP. We also argue for further exploration of coaching by drawing on phenomenological concepts such as care and relationality

A Qualitative Study of Women's Lived Experiences of Conflict and Domestic Violence in Afghanistan.

This article empirically explores women's lived experiences of domestic violence and conflict in Afghanistan. A thematic analysis of 20 semistructured interviews with women living in safe houses produced three main themes about the relationship between conflict and domestic violence: (a) violence from loss of patriarchal support, (b) violence from the drug trade as an economic driver, and (c) violence from conflict-related poverty. We discuss the bidirectional nature of this relationship: Not only does conflict contribute to domestic violence, but domestic violence contributes to conflict through justifying armed intervention, separating women from economic and public life, and perpetuating patriarchy