Validation of the English and Chinese versions of the Quick-FLIC quality of life questionnaire.

A useful measure of quality of life should be easy and quick to complete. Recently, we reported the development and validation of a shortened Chinese version of the Functional Living Index-Cancer (FLIC), which we called the Quick-FLIC. In the present study of 327 English-speaking and 221 Chinese-speaking cancer patients, we validated the English version of the Quick-FLIC and further assessed the Chinese version. The 11 Quick-FLIC items were administered alongside the 11 remaining items of the full FLIC, but there appeared to be little context effect. Validity of the English version of the Quick-FLIC was attested by its strong correlation with two other measures of quality of life, and its ability to detect differences between patients with different performance status and treatment status (each P<0.001). Its internal consistency (alpha=0.86) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation=0.76) were also satisfactory. The measure was responsive to changes in performance status (P<0.001). The Chinese version showed similar characteristics. The Quick-FLIC behaved in ways that are highly comparable with the FLIC, even though the Quick-FLIC comprised only 11 items whereas the FLIC comprised 22. Further research is required to see whether the use of shorter instruments can improve data quality and response rates, but the fact that shorter instruments place less burden on the patients is itself inherently important

Comment on "Peierls Gap in Mesoscopic Ring Threated by a Magnetic Flux"

In a recent letter, Yi et al. PRL 78, 3523 (1997), have considered the stability of a Charge Density Wave in a one-dimensional ring, in the presence of an Aharonov-Bohm flux. This comment shows that, in one dimension, the stability of the Charge Density Wave depends on the parity of the number of electrons in the ring. This effect is similar to the parity effect known for the persistent current in one-dimensional rings.Comment: Latex, 1 page, 2 figure

Discovery of Gamma-ray Pulsations from the Transitional Redback PSR J1227-4853

The 1.69 ms spin period of PSR J1227-4853 was recently discovered in radio observations of the low-mass X-ray binary XSS J12270-4859 following the announcement of a possible transition to a rotation-powered millisecond pulsar state, inferred from decreases in optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray flux from the source. We report the detection of significant (5$\sigma$) gamma-ray pulsations after the transition, at the known spin period, using ~1 year of data from the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The gamma-ray light curve of PSR J1227-4853 can be fit by one broad peak, which occurs at nearly the same phase as the main peak in the 1.4 GHz radio profile. The partial alignment of light-curve peaks in different wavebands suggests that at least some of the radio emission may originate at high altitude in the pulsar magnetosphere, in extended regions co-located with the gamma-ray emission site. We folded the LAT data at the orbital period, both pre- and post-transition, but find no evidence for significant modulation of the gamma-ray flux. Analysis of the gamma-ray flux over the mission suggests an approximate transition time of 2012 November 30. Continued study of the pulsed emission and monitoring of PSR J1227-4853, and other known redback systems, for subsequent flux changes will increase our knowledge of the pulsar emission mechanism and transitioning systems.Comment: 5 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ, updated to reflect accepted version and add additional coautho

Transient Thermal Stresses In A Sphere By Local Heating

The problem of transient thermal stresses in a solid, elastic, homogeneous, and isotropic sphere is solved for uniform and nonuniform, local surface heating. The temperature solutions are obtained by using separation of variables and integral transformation. The corresponding thermal stresses are derived by superposing a particular displacement potential function on Boussinesq solutions. Numerical solutions for two particular cases of localized heating of a typical brittle spherical solid have been obtained and presented. The results indicate a tensile stress concentration in the interior of the solid below the heated zone. © 1974 by ASME

Performance of a commercial wine store with insulated concrete walls

The internal environment within an unconditioned wine barrel store, constructed from insulated concrete panels and located in south-eastern Australia, has been investigated during a summer and winter month. Average temperatures inside the store were found to be 13.7&deg;C and 22.8&deg;C in the winter and summer month respectively. A validated mathematical model of the store was used to investigate the contribution of the concrete walls, insulation and the wine itself to the internal thermal environment. The concrete walls were found to be the least influential.<br /