401 research outputs found
Relationships between Root Temperature and the Transport of Ammonium and Nitrate Ions by Italian and Perennial Ryegrass ( Lolium multiflorum
Development of the Upper Hunter Valley : an appraisal of regional social impact
The underlying premise on which this study is
based is that the Upper Hunter Valley region will be
greatly affected as a result of the magnitude, nature
and time scale of the development envisaged for the
region. The Upper Hunter Valley region is defined as
the urban and rural areas of Singleton and Muswellbrook,
is one with which the inhabitants closely identify.
The normal decision-making procedure is described,
and its effectiveness for rapid regional growth questioned.
Various perspectives of the Upper Hunter Valley
development are elucidated, and a regional perspective
is used in this study.
A human ecology methodology is used to assess
the regional community's perception of social impact.
Such a methodology is the most appropriate for evaluating
the community's reaction to the rapid and profoundly
changing circumstances, that are an inevitable consequence
of development in the Upper Hunter Valley. The study has two .objectives:-
1. to test the hypothesis that those residents who
are pro-development will have different socioeconomic
characteristics to those who are anti-development
and 2. to establish a human ecology data base as a
basis for determining the existing biopsychic
condition of residents of the Upper Hunter
Valley region. A human ecological conceptual framework introduces
the notion of perception vectors and bio-psychic condition to facilitate measurement of the community's perceived
level of well-being.
The subjective data used to test the tv/o
hypotheses was obtained by carrying out a postal survey
of residents of Singleton and Muswellbrook Electoral Sub-
Divisions. The survey questionnaire was designed to be
comprehensive, but also concise and readily understood
by ordinary people; to achieve a meaningful and
satisfactory questionnaire response.
The SPSS computer package was used to analyse
the data.
A broad overview of the survey data is presented.
Sections 1 and 2 of the data are analysed to determine
the socio-economic characteristics of the residents who
are 'pro' and anti' development. Data from section 3
provides information on the residents of the regional
problems and also on the extent of their trust in various
groups. Section 4 data is analysed to determine the
strength of the various Upper Hunter Valley community's
composite perception vectors and thus the overall
regional biopsychic condition.
Level of education is shown to be a significant
influence on attitudes to development, but overall none
of the other socio-economic characteristics significantly
influence development attitudes. The study does achieve
the second object and establishes a human ecology data base,
and an estimate of the existing regional biopsychic
condition
Spectral imaging of thermal damage induced during microwave ablation in the liver
Induction of thermal damage to tissue through delivery of microwave energy is
frequently applied in surgery to destroy diseased tissue such as cancer cells.
Minimization of unwanted harm to healthy tissue is still achieved subjectively,
and the surgeon has few tools at their disposal to monitor the spread of the
induced damage. This work describes the use of optical methods to monitor the
time course of changes to the tissue during delivery of microwave energy in the
porcine liver. Multispectral imaging and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy are
used to monitor temporal changes in optical properties in parallel with thermal
imaging. The results demonstrate the ability to monitor the spatial extent of
thermal damage on a whole organ, including possible secondary effects due to
vascular damage. Future applications of this type of imaging may see the
multispectral data used as a feedback mechanism to avoid collateral damage to
critical healthy structures and to potentially verify sufficient application of
energy to the diseased tissue.Comment: 4pg,6fig. Copyright 2018 IEEE. Personal use of this material is
permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any
current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for
advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for
resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted
component of this work in other work
Development of a Root Caries Prediction Model in a Population of Dental Attenders
Acknowledgement This study was conducted as part of the doctoral thesis of P.A.F. We would like to thank the participating dental practice teams and patients without whose valuable contribution this study could not have taken place. We would like to thank our colleagues in the INTERVAL Trial team Funding INTERVAL was funded by the NIHR HTA programme [project numbers 06/35/05 (Phase I) and 06/35/99 (Phase II)]. No additional funding was obtained to conduct the prediction study presented in this paper. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of NIHR, the NHS or the Department of Health and Social Care.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Augmented Reality needle ablation guidance tool for Irreversible Electroporation in the pancreas
Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a soft tissue ablation technique
suitable for treatment of inoperable tumours in the pancreas. The process
involves applying a high voltage electric field to the tissue containing the
mass using needle electrodes, leaving cancerous cells irreversibly damaged and
vulnerable to apoptosis. Efficacy of the treatment depends heavily on the
accuracy of needle placement and requires a high degree of skill from the
operator. In this paper, we describe an Augmented Reality (AR) system designed
to overcome the challenges associated with planning and guiding the needle
insertion process. Our solution, based on the HoloLens (Microsoft, USA)
platform, tracks the position of the headset, needle electrodes and ultrasound
(US) probe in space. The proof of concept implementation of the system uses
this tracking data to render real-time holographic guides on the HoloLens,
giving the user insight into the current progress of needle insertion and an
indication of the target needle trajectory. The operator's field of view is
augmented using visual guides and real-time US feed rendered on a holographic
plane, eliminating the need to consult external monitors. Based on these early
prototypes, we are aiming to develop a system that will lower the skill level
required for IRE while increasing overall accuracy of needle insertion and,
hence, the likelihood of successful treatment.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Proc. SPIE 10576 (2018) Copyright 2018 Society of
Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). One print or electronic copy
may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution,
duplication of any material in this publication for a fee or for commercial
purposes, or modification of the contents of the publication are prohibite
AdS Bubbles, Entropy and Closed String Tachyons
We study the conjectured connection between AdS bubbles (AdS solitons) and
closed string tachyon condensations. We confirm that the entanglement entropy,
which measures the degree of freedom, decreases under the tachyon condensation.
The entropies in supergravity and free Yang-Mills agree with each other
remarkably. Next we consider the tachyon condensation on the AdS twisted circle
and argue that its endpoint is given by the twisted AdS bubble, defined by the
double Wick rotation of rotating black 3-brane solutions. We calculated the
Casimir energy and entropy and checked the agreements between the gauge and
gravity results. Finally we show an infinite boost of a null linear dilaton
theory with a tachyon wall (or bubble), leads to a solvable time-dependent
background with a bulk tachyon condensation. This is the simplest example of
spacetimes with null boundaries in string theory.Comment: 45 pages, 6 figures, harvmac, eq.(2.16) corrected, references adde
The thermal emission of the exoplanets WASP-1b and WASP-2b
We present a comparative study of the thermal emission of the transiting
exoplanets WASP-1b and WASP-2b using the Spitzer Space Telescope. The two
planets have very similar masses but suffer different levels of irradiation and
are predicted to fall either side of a sharp transition between planets with
and without hot stratospheres. WASP-1b is one of the most highly irradiated
planets studied to date. We measure planet/star contrast ratios in all four of
the IRAC bands for both planets (3.6-8.0um), and our results indicate the
presence of a strong temperature inversion in the atmosphere of WASP-1b,
particularly apparent at 8um, and no inversion in WASP-2b. In both cases the
measured eclipse depths favor models in which incident energy is not
redistributed efficiently from the day side to the night side of the planet. We
fit the Spitzer light curves simultaneously with the best available radial
velocity curves and transit photometry in order to provide updated measurements
of system parameters. We do not find significant eccentricity in the orbit of
either planet, suggesting that the inflated radius of WASP-1b is unlikely to be
the result of tidal heating. Finally, by plotting ratios of secondary eclipse
depths at 8um and 4.5um against irradiation for all available planets, we find
evidence for a sharp transition in the emission spectra of hot Jupiters at an
irradiation level of 2 x 10^9 erg/s/cm^2. We suggest this transition may be due
to the presence of TiO in the upper atmospheres of the most strongly irradiated
hot Jupiters.Comment: 10 pages, submitted to Ap
Building partnerships towards strengthening Makerere University College of Health Sciences: a stakeholder and sustainability analysis
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Partnerships and networking are important for an institution of higher learning like Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS) to be competitive and sustainable.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A stakeholder and sustainability analysis of 25 key informant interviews was conducted among past, current and potential stakeholders of MakCHS to obtain their perspectives and contributions to sustainability of the College in its role to improve health outcomes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The College has multiple internal and external stakeholders. Stakeholders from Uganda wanted the College to use its enormous academic capacity to fulfil its vision, take initiative, and be innovative in conducting more research and training relevant to the country’s health needs. Many stakeholders felt that the initiative for collaboration currently came more from the stakeholders than the College. External stakeholders felt that MakCHS was insufficiently marketing itself and not directly engaging the private sector or Parliament. Stakeholders also identified the opportunity for MakCHS to embrace information technology in research, learning and training, and many also wanted MakCHS to start leadership and management training programmes in health systems. The need for MakCHS to be more vigorous in training to enhance professionalism and ethical conduct was also identified.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>As a constituent of a public university, MakCHS has relied on public funding, which has been inadequate to fulfill its mission. Broader networking, marketing to mobilize resources, and providing strong leadership and management support to inspire confidence among its current and potential stakeholders will be essential to MakCHS’ further growth. MakCHS’ relevance is hinged on generating research knowledge for solving the country’s contemporary health problems and starting relevant programs and embracing technologies. It should share new knowledge widely through publications and other forms of dissemination. Whether institutional leadership is best in the hands of academicians or professional managers is a debatable matter.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study points towards the need for MakCHS and other African public universities to build a broad network of partnerships to strengthen their operations, relevance, and sustainability. Conducting stakeholder and sustainability analyses are instructive toward this end, and have provided information and perspectives on how to make long-range informed choices for success.</p
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