Saturable-reactor motor starter reduces line voltage fluctuations

Saturable reactor starter uses back electromotive force /emf/ generated by large motors /18,650 to 596,800 watts/ to limit and control the starting current

Analysis of B and Be Star Populations of the Double Cluster h and chi Persei

We present blue optical spectra of 92 members of h and chi Per obtained with the WIYN telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. From these spectra, several stellar parameters were measured for the B-type stars, including V sin i, T_eff, log g_polar, M_star, and R_star. Stromgren photometry was used to measure T_eff and log g_polar for the Be stars. We also analyze photometric data of cluster members and discuss the near-to-mid IR excesses of Be stars.Comment: 4 pages, to appear in the proceedings of IAU Symposium 266: Star Cluster

Applying economic evaluation to public health interventions: The case of interventions to promote physical activity

Copyright @ 2012 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.BACKGROUND: This paper explores the application of alternative approaches to economic evaluation of public health interventions, using a worked example of exercise referral schemes (ERSs). METHODS: Cost-utility (CUA) and cost-consequence analyses (CCA) were used to assess the cost-effectiveness of ERSs. For the CUA, evidence was synthesized using a decision analytic model that adopts a lifetime horizon and NHS/Personal Social Services perspective. Outcomes were expressed as incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY). CCA was conducted from a partial-societal perspective, including health and non-healthcare costs and benefits. Outcomes were reported in natural units, such as cases of strokes or CHD avoided. RESULTS: Compared with usual care, the incremental cost per QALY of ERS is £20 876. Based on a cohort of 100 000 individuals, CCA estimates cost of ERS at £22 million to the healthcare provider and £12 million to participants. The benefits of ERS include additional 3900 people becoming physically active, 51 cases of CHD avoided, 16 cases of stroke avoided, 86 cases of diabetes avoided and a gain of ∼800 QALYs. CONCLUSIONS: CCA might provide greater transparency than CUA in reporting the outcomes of public health interventions and have greater resonance with stakeholders involved in commissioning these interventions.This work was supported by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme (project number 08/72/01). This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund

The Scottish adolescent e-cigarette user : profiling from the Scottish Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS)

Objectives: Profiling the Scottish adolescent e-cigarette user Study design: 283 state, independent and grant maintained schools participated in the Scottish Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) between September 2013 and 2014. 33,685 13 and 15-year-old pupils who had completed the cross-sectional survey SALSUS questionnaire, and answered the question based on e-cigarette use were included in the analysis. Profiling of the typical Scottish adolescent e-cigarette user through gender, age, socioeconomic status, urban/rural location, weekly alcohol consumption, current drug use and current tobacco smoking was the main outcome measured. Results: 1.1% of adolescents were current e-cigarette users with 11% having tried the devices before. Current e-cigarette users were significantly more likely to be male (OR=1.9; CI= 1.5-1.9), rural (OR= 1.4; CI=1.1-1.9), smoke tobacco (OR=21.1; CI=15.3-29.1), weekly alcohol (OR=1.4; CI=1.1-1.9) and current drug users (OR=2.3; CI=1.7-3.0). There were no significance differences observed for socioeconomic status. Similar results were observed for those using both and those who only used e-cigarettes. Only tobacco smokers differed in that they were significantly more likely to be female than male (OR=0.56; CI=0.51-0.63) and of a lower socioeconomic status (OR=1.3; CI=1.1-1.4). Conclusions: The Scottish adolescent e-cigarette user is male, lives rurally, a weekly alcohol drinker, a current drug user and a tobacco smoker. This profiling study helps to inform policy makers targeting e-cigarette use. Further research requires a longitudinal study and monitoring the changing views of this group.PostprintPeer reviewe

The Evolution of Protoplanetary Disks Around Millisecond Pulsars: The PSR 1257 +12 System

We model the evolution of protoplanetary disks surrounding millisecond pulsars, using PSR 1257+12 as a test case. Initial conditions were chosen to correspond to initial angular momenta expected for supernova-fallback disks and disks formed from the tidal disruption of a companion star. Models were run under two models for the viscous evolution of disks: fully viscous and layered accretion disk models. Supernova-fallback disks result in a distribution of solids confined to within 1-2 AU and produce the requisite material to form the three known planets surrounding PSR 1257+12. Tidal disruption disks tend to slightly underproduce solids interior to 1 AU, required for forming the pulsar planets, while overproducing the amount of solids where no body, lunar mass or greater, exists. Disks evolving under 'layered' accretion spread somewhat less and deposit a higher column density of solids into the disk. In all cases, circumpulsar gas dissipates on $\lesssim 10^{5}$ year timescales, making formation of gas giant planets highly unlikely.Comment: 16 pages, 17 figures, Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (September 20, 2007 issue

New evidence on Allyn Young's style and influence as a teacher

This paper publishes the hitherto unpublished correspondence between Allyn Abbott Young's biographer Charles Blitch and 17 of Young's former students or associates. Together with related biographical and archival material, the paper shows the way in which this adds to our knowledge of Young's considerable influence as a teacher upon some of the twentieth century's greatest economists. The correspondents are as follows: James W Angell, Colin Clark, Arthur H Cole, Lauchlin Currie, Melvin G de Chazeau, Eleanor Lansing Dulles, Howard S Ellis, Frank W Fetter, Earl J Hamilton, Seymour S Harris, Richard S Howey, Nicholas Kaldor, Melvin M Knight, Bertil Ohlin, Geoffrey Shepherd, Overton H Taylor, and Gilbert Walker