Hard Processes in Electron-Proton Scattering

This report summarizes some of the recent HERA results obtained by studying hard processes in ep-scattering. By resolving the structure of the proton, hard ep-reactions provide information on the parton content of the proton and may give insight into the dynamics of the exchanged parton cascade. In addition, their study offers the possibility to test the Standard Model, in particular perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics, on which the theoretical predictions on ep-scattering cross sections are generally based. Any observed deviation between the data and existing theoretical models would either indicate the need to calculate higher order contributions or hint at signs of new physics.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, talk given at 23rd International Conference on Physics in Collision (PIC 2003), Zeuthen, Germany, 26-28 Jun 200

Hourly resolution forward curves for power: statistical modeling meets market fundamentals

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The Influence of the Lower Trapezius Muscle on Shoulder Impingement and Scapula Dyskinesis

This dissertation contains three experiments all conducted in an outpatient physical therapy setting. Shoulder impingement is a common problem seen in overhead athletes and other individuals and associated changes in muscle activity, biomechanics, and movement patterns have been observed in this condition. Differentially diagnosing impingement and specifically addressing the underlying causes is a vital component of any rehabilitation program and can facilitate the individuals return to normal function and daily living. Current rehabilitation attempts to facilitate healing while promoting proper movement patterns through therapeutic exercise and understanding each shoulder muscles contribution is vitally important to treatment of individuals with shoulder impingement. This dissertation consisted of two studies designed to understand how active the lower trapezius muscle will be during common rehabilitation exercises and the effect lower trapezius fatigue will have on scapula dyskinesis. Study one consisted of two phases and examined muscle activity in healthy individuals and individuals diagnosed with shoulder impingement. Muscle activity was recorded using an electromyographic (EMG) machine during 7 commonly used rehabilitation exercises performed in 3 different postures. EMG activity of the lower trapezius was recorded and analyzed to determine which rehabilitation exercise elicited the highest muscle activity and if a change in posture caused a change in EMG activity. The second study took the exercise with the highest EMG activity of the lower trapezius (prone horizontal abduction at 130¢ª) and attempted to compare a fatiguing resistance protocol and a stretching protocol and see if fatigue would elicit scapula dyskinesis. In this study, individuals who underwent the fatiguing protocol exhibited scapula dyskinesis while the stretching group had no change in scapula motion. Also of note, both groups exhibited a decrease in force production due to the treatment. The scapula dyskinesis in the fatiguing group implies that lower trapezius function is vitally important to maintain proper scapula movement patterns and fatigue of this muscle can contribute and even cause scapula dyskinesis. This abnormal scapula motions can cause or increase the risk of injury in overhead throwing. This dissertation provides novel insight about EMG activation during specific therapeutic exercises and the importance of lower trap function to proper biomechanics of the scapula

Characterisation Studies of Silicon Photomultipliers

This paper describes an experimental setup that has been developed to measure and characterise properties of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM). The measured SiPM properties are of general interest for a multitude of potential applications and comprise the Photon Detection Efficiency (PDE), the voltage dependent cross-talk and the after-pulse probabilities. With the described setup the absolute PDE can be determined as a function of wavelength covering a spectral range from 350 to 1000nm. In addition, a method is presented which allows to study the pixel uniformity in terms of the spatial variations of sensitivity and gain. The results from various commercially available SiPMs - three HAMAMATSU MPPCs and one SensL SPM - are presented and compared.Comment: 11 pages, 21 figures, submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section

Air quality and mental illness: Role of bioaerosols, causal mechanisms and research priorities

BACKGROUND: Poor air quality can both trigger and aggravate lung and heart conditions, as well as affecting child development. It can even lead to neurological and mental health problems. However, the precise mechanisms by which air pollution affect human health are not well understood. AIMS: To promote interdisciplinary dialogue and better research based on a critical summary of evidence on air quality and health, with an emphasis on mental health, and to do so with a special focus on bioaerosols as a common but neglected air constituent. METHOD: A rapid narrative review and interdisciplinary expert consultation, as is recommended for a complex and rapidly changing field of research. RESULTS: The research methods used to assess exposures and outcomes vary across different fields of study, resulting in a disconnect in bioaerosol and health research. We make recommendations to enhance the evidence base by standardising measures of exposure to both particulate matter in general and bioaerosols specifically. We present methods for assessing mental health and ideal designs. There is less research on bioaerosols, and we provide specific ways of measuring exposure to these. We suggest research designs for investigating causal mechanisms as important intermediate steps before undertaking larger-scale and definitive studies. CONCLUSIONS: We propose methods for exposure and outcome measurement, as well as optimal research designs to inform the development of standards for undertaking and reporting research and for future policy

A framework for parameter estimation using sharp-interface seawater intrusion models

Funding : This work was supported by Quebec’s Ministère de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (MELCC) [project « Acquisition de connaissances sur les eaux souterraines dans la région des Îles-de-la-Madeleine » (Groundwater characterization project in the Magdalen Islands region)]; and the Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies (FRQNT) [International internship program accessed through CentrEau, the Quebec Water Research Center]. The authors would like to thank the Municipality of Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine for providing pumping datasets and information on current and historical groundwater management. They would also like to thank the team at Université Laval working on the Magdalen Islands project, for their help acquiring datasets and for field logistics, John Molson, for proofreading, and finally the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments. The authors would also like to thank Vincent Post for discussions on deep open boreholes, and Francesca Lotti and John Doherty for discussions on seawater intrusion modeling and data assimilation. J-C Comte and O Banton acknowledge the financial support from the Fonds d'Action Québécois pour le Développement Durable for the ERT data collection, undertaken as part of the Madelin'Eau consortium (Ageos-Enviro'Puits-Hydriad), and further thank the Municipality of Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine for fieldwork logistical and technical support.Peer reviewedproo