The Role of Physics in the Christian Liberal Arts University

The Role of Physics in the Christian Liberal Arts Universit

Enuresis in children

Enuresis is a condition which not only causes much inhappiness to its victims but which does not by any means always undergo a natural cure. It is also more common than is generally realised.In consideration of the aetiology of the condition,hereditary factors may play a small part but racial factors and size of family are of no significance, nor is there any greater incidence in either sex. The condition is more common among the poorer classes, but this may be due to the fact that most investigations have involved the hospital class of child. frost cases begin in infancy or develop in early childhood.Of the many theories of causation none accounts for more than a proportion of the cases and that proportion is generally a small one. The majority of the diseases and defects which have been held to be causative are merely co- existing factors and not necessarily causative factors at all. This applies particularly to mental deficiency with which enuresis has no direct connection, the proportion of enuretics not increasing as the Intelligence Quotient, diminishes.The theory, which I think does cover most of the cases, with the exception of the small percentage having a specific lesion, cure of which will cure the enuresis, is that the condition is essentially one associated with defective training and environment. This, in my view is by far the commonest cause.The investigation of each individual case is of the utmost importance, including as it must, a careful history, a full physical examination and a careful investigation of the environment of the child.With regard to the treatment of these children, I have enumerated various operative procedures which have been tried, most of which are as impracticable in the average case as they are unde s ireable . A survey is given of some of the numerous drugs that have been used in the treatment of enuresis and the effect of five of the most commonly used, Fotassium Citrate, Belladonna, Thyroid, Atropina sulphate and Eserine sulphate, has been noted in a series of 91 cases.The results are disappointing, the most effective being Belladonna and that failed in 60% of the cases in which it was tried.I have made a strong plea for what may be termed prophylactic treatment. Every mother should, I think, receive instruction on the training of her child at the time of her confinement, particularly with regard to the inculcation of good habits in connection with bladder function. Thus, I feel, many cases might be prevented.With regard to the established case of enuresis the most hopeful lines of treatment are I think to improve the childs general health, to remedy all possible defects in environment and hygiene, and to attempt to obtain full co- operation of child and parent in order that the desire for cure, and the determination to be cured, may be fostered in the childs mind.On the principle that any treatment is of value which suggests to the child that cure can and will take place, I have tried Dunhams method of getting the child to concentrate on suggestive sentences written on a card. The series of 8 cases so treated is too small for definite conclusions to be drawn but the results are encouraging.With regard to the cases that fail to respond to treatment I think the main causes of lack of success are parental stupidity and indifference and lack of a full comprehensive investigation of the case.The first factor is outwith control;- the second is not, and, tedious as the necessary work may be, the result is surely worth while

Phase Shift Ambiguities for Spin-independent Scattering

The representation of scattering data by phase shifts is by now a deeply-rooted tradition accepted universally by each new generation of physicists. After measuring a differential cross-section, (1) dσ / dΩ = Ιf(θ)Ι2 at a certain energy (here it is assumed that there is no spin dependence), one seeks to represent the data by means of a set of real angles such that (2) Equation where k is the momentum in the center-of-mass system(l). The advantage of such a representation is in situations in which one expects and finds that only a small number of non-vanishing phase shifts will suffice. It is an implicit assumption, never proved, that there will be a unique set of such phase shifts, aside from well-known and obvious ambiguities. (We exclude here a consideration of experimental uncertainties.) We show that this assumption is false by exhibibiting a counter-example. The problem here is that specification of the phase shifts also specifies the phase of the scattering amplitude f, whereas only its absolute value is determined experimentally. Thus we inquire if it is possible for two or more different sets of phase shifts to satisfy the experimental data. The ambiguities which we discuss here for spin-independent scattering are somewhat analogous to the famous Fermi-Yang ambiguities encountered in the early history of π p scattering

A Gravitational Theory of the Quantum

The synthesis of quantum and gravitational physics is sought through a finite, realistic, locally causal theory where gravity plays a vital role not only during decoherent measurement but also during non-decoherent unitary evolution. Invariant set theory is built on geometric properties of a compact fractal-like subset $I_U$ of cosmological state space on which the universe is assumed to evolve and from which the laws of physics are assumed to derive. Consistent with the primacy of $I_U$, a non-Euclidean (and hence non-classical) state-space metric $g_p$ is defined, related to the $p$-adic metric of number theory where $p$ is a large but finite Pythagorean prime. Uncertain states on $I_U$ are described using complex Hilbert states, but only if their squared amplitudes are rational and corresponding complex phase angles are rational multiples of $2 \pi$. Such Hilbert states are necessarily $g_p$-distant from states with either irrational squared amplitudes or irrational phase angles. The gappy fractal nature of $I_U$ accounts for quantum complementarity and is characterised numerically by a generic number-theoretic incommensurateness between rational angles and rational cosines of angles. The Bell inequality, whose violation would be inconsistent with local realism, is shown to be $g_p$-distant from all forms of the inequality that are violated in any finite-precision experiment. The delayed-choice paradox is resolved through the computational irreducibility of $I_U$. The Schr\"odinger and Dirac equations describe evolution on $I_U$ in the singular limit at $p=\infty$. By contrast, an extension of the Einstein field equations on $I_U$ is proposed which reduces smoothly to general relativity as $p \rightarrow \infty$. Novel proposals for the dark universe and the elimination of classical space-time singularities are given and experimental implications outlined

Tools for understanding the agricultural production systems and their socio-economic context in target regions for the introduction of new banana cultivars: baseline intra-household survey.

Within the framework of the IITA-led project “Improvement of banana for smallholder farmers in the Great Lakes region of Africa” (also known as the “Breeding Better Bananas” project, http://breedingbetterbananas.org), Bioversity International and partners conducted baseline research in the target regions of Luwero and Mbarara in Uganda, and Bukoba, Meru, Moshi and Rungwe in Tanzania during 2015-2016, prior to conducting on-station and on-farm evaluations of the new NARITA banana cultivars. Five tools were used to characterise the banana and agricultural production systems, and the socioeconomic context of these systems, in the target regions. The research used a mixed-methods, participatory and sex-disaggregated approach to ensure that the knowledge, experiences and opinions of as many people as possible were obtained. The understanding gained from the baseline research will: • Be fed into the banana breeding pipeline at multiple entry points to assist with breeding banana cultivars that better meet the requirements of the users. Some of these entry points are: setting of breeding targets; selection of parent material; evaluation in regional on-station and on-farm trials; participatory varietal selection taking into account the criteria (or ‘trait preferences’) that are important to multiple and different users; facilitating access to and adoption of the new cultivars by farmers and other end-users through scaling up the supply of clean planting materials and ensuring equitable distribution of these through the ‘seed’ systems. • Inform the ongoing adaptive management of the project activities to ensure fair participation and decision-making by people in the affected communities. • Provide the baseline to evaluate, in conjunction with the endline, the impact of adoption of the new cultivars on households, and individuals within, in the target regions

Optical measurement of torque exerted on an elongated object by a non-circular laser beam

We have developed a scheme to measure the optical torque, exerted by a laser beam on a phase object, by measuring the orbital angular momentum of the transmitted beam. The experiment is a macroscopic simulation of a situation in optical tweezers, as orbital angular momentum has been widely used to apply torque to microscopic objects. A hologram designed to generate LG02 modes and a CCD camera are used to detect the orbital component of the beam. Experimental results agree with theoretical numerical calculations, and the strength of the orbital component suggest its usefulness in optical tweezers for micromanipulation.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, v2: minor typographical correction

The effect of regional citrate anti-coagulation on the coagulation system in critically ill patients receiving continuous renal replacement therapy for acute kidney injury - An observational cohort study

BACKGROUND: Regional anticoagulation with citrate is the recommended first line treatment for patients receiving continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). There is wide variability in filter patency which may be due to differences in patient characteristics and local practice. It is also possible that citrate has effects on primary and secondary haemostasis, fibrinolysis and platelet function that are still unknown. The primary aim of the study is to describe the effect of citrate on coagulation and fibrinolysis pathways in both the patient and the haemodialysis circuit. METHODS: The study will recruit 12 adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit, requiring CRRT with regional citrate anticoagulation for acute kidney injury. Patients with pre-existing thrombotic or bleeding tendencies will be excluded. Thrombin generation, clot lysis and platelet function will be measured at baseline and at 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72 h after commencing CRRT (from the patient and from the circuit). We will describe the evolution of parameters over time as well as the differences in parameters between the patient and the circuit. DISCUSSION: The study will provide new data on the effects of citrate during continuous renal replacement therapy which is not currently available. We will minimise confounding factors through the use of tight exclusion criteria and accept that this will slow down recruitment. Depending on the results, we hope to incorporate the findings into existing clinical guidelines and clinical practice with the aim to prevent premature filter clotting and interruptions in treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered with clinicaltrials.gov on 10th June 2015 (NCT02486614)

Non-pharmacological self-management strategies for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in people with advanced cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Non-pharmacological self-management interventions for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotherapy (CIPN) are of clinical interest; however, no systematic review has synthesized the evidence for their use in people with advanced cancer. Five databases were searched from inception to February 2022 for randomized controlled trials assessing the effect of non-pharmacological self-management interventions in people with advanced cancer on the incidence and severity of CIPN symptoms and related outcomes compared to any control condition. Data were pooled with metaanalysis. Quality of evidence was appraised using the Revised Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for Randomized Trials (RoB2), with data synthesized narratively. Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) was applied to assess the certainty of the evidence. Thirteen studies were included, which had a high (69 %) or unclear (31 %) risk of bias. Greatest confidence was found for physical exercise decreasing CIPN severity (SMD: −0.89, 95 % CI: −1.37 to −0.41; p = 0.0003; I2 = 0 %; n = 2 studies, n = 76 participants; GRADE level: moderate) and increasing physical function (SMD: 0.51, 95 % CI: 0.02 to 1.00; p = 0.04; I2 = 42 %; n = 3 studies, n = 120; GRADE level: moderate). One study per intervention provided preliminary evidence for the positive effects of glutamine supplementation, an Omega-3 PUFA-enriched drink, and education for symptom self-management via a mobile phone game on CIPN symptoms and related outcomes (GRADE: very low). No serious adverse events were reported. The strongest evidence with the most certainty was found for physical exercise as a safe and viable adjuvant to chemotherapy treatment for the prevention and management of CIPN and related physical function in people with advanced cancer. However, the confidence in the evidence to inform conclusions was mostly very low to moderate. Future well-powered and appropriately designed interventions for clinical trials using validated outcome measures and clearly defined populations and strategies are warranted