ENCOURAGEMENT OF ACTIVE LEARNING BY THE TOOLS OF THE MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSES (MOOCS)

The rapid development of computer technologies and the investment in innovations has created opportunity for a launching a new model of e-learning courses, precisely a Massive open online courses or a MOOCs. This article aims to reveal the opportunities of the MOOCs and their tools to encourage the active thinking of the learners, as well as to identify the motivating and demotivating sides of such type of learning. Applying the new ways of free access education gives possibility for learning that is not bound to the physical presence in the lecture hall. Transformation of the traditional passive learning methods into their interactive version gives the learner the choice to determine the pace of his / her learning. The global audience of MOOC can draw on learning experiences from the thousands courses offered by renowned suppliers such as Stanford Online, Coursera, Udacity, OpenClassrooms, edX, etc. in exchange for leisure and desire of personal development

New Broadband LIDAR for Greenhouse Carbon Dioxide Gas Sensing in the Earth's Atmosphere

We present demonstration of a novel broadband lidar technique capable of dealing with the atmospherically induced variations in CO2 absorption using a Fabry-Perot based detector and a broadband laser. The Fabry-Perot solid etalon in the receiver part is tuned to match the wavelength of several CO2 absorption lines simultaneously. The broadband technique tremendously reduces the requirement for source wavelength stability, instead putting this responsibility on the Fabry- Perot based receiver. The instrument technology we are developing has a clear pathway to space and realistic potential to become a robust, low risk space measurement system

Miniaturized Gas Correlation Radiometer for the Detection of Trace Gases in the Martian Atmosphere

We present a miniaturized and simplified version of a gas correlation radiometer (GCR) capable of simultaneously mapping multiple trace gases and identifying active regions on the Mars surface. Gas correlation radiometry (GCR) has been shown to be a sensitive and versatile method for detecting trace gases in Earth's atmosphere. Reduction of the size and mass of the GCR was achieved by implementing compact, light-weight 1 mm inner diameter hollow-core optical fibers (hollow waveguides) as the gas correlation cells. In a comparison with an Earth orbiting CO2 GCR instrument, exchanging the 10 m multipass cells with hollow waveguide gas correlation cells of equivalent path length reduces the mass from approximately 150 kg to approximately 0.5 kg, and reduces the volume from 1.9 m x 1.3 m x 0.86 m to a small bundle of fiber coils approximately 1 meter in diameter by 0.05 m in height (mass and volume reductions of greater than 99%). A unique feature of this instrument is its stackable module design, with a single module for each trace gas. Each of the modules is self-contained, and fundamentally identical; differing by the bandpass filter wavelength range and gas mixtures inside the hollow-waveguide absorption cells. The current configuration contains four stacked modules for simultaneous measurements of methane (CH4), formaldehyde (H2CO), water vapor (H2O), and deuterated water vapor (HDO) but could easily be expanded to include measurements of additional species of interest including nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), methanol (CH3OH), and sulfur dioxide (SO2), as well as carbon dioxide (CO2) for a simultaneous measure of mass balance. Preliminary results indicate that a 1 ppb detection limit is possible for both formaldehyde and methane with one second of averaging. Using non-optimized components, we have demonstrated an instrument sensitivity equivalent to approximately 30 ppb for formaldehyde, and approximately 500 ppb for methane. We expect custom bandpass filters and 6 m long waveguides to significantly improve these promising results. Ongoing testing is being conducted on water vapor and deuterated water vapor

Health care in patients with inflammatory diseases of the cornea - Keratoconus

Кератоконусът е вродено, невъзпалително заболяване с неизяснена етиология. Характеризира се с изтъняване и конусовидно изкривяване на роговицата, в следствие на което се нарушава пречупвателната й способност и зрителната острота прогресивно намалява. Заболяването се проявява обикновено през пубертета до около 20-годишна възраст.В ранните етапи на заболяването зрението може да бъде коригирано с очила. В последствие средство за избор представляват твърдите контактни лещи, които остават за по-продължителен период. Последният стадий на заболяването изисква хирургична намеса и трансплантация на роговица от донор.В статията е представен съвременният метод за лечение Crosslinking, който използва рибофлавин и облъчване с ултравиолетова светлина, с цел създаване на нови колагенови връзки и уплътняване на роговицата, кератопластика, както и хирургичната алтернатива на кератопластика - имплантиране на интрастромални корнеални пръстени, което води до оплоскостяване на роговицата и укрепване на роговичния слой. Представен е алгоритъм за качество на здравните грижи в предоперативния и следопeративния период при пациент след кератопластика, както и програма за обучение на пациента в домашни условия.Алгоритъмът на поведение ще допринесе за качеството на здравните грижи и ще подпомогне пациентите да избегнат усложнения в домашни условия.Keratoconus is innate, non-inflammatory disease of unknown etiology. It is characterized by thinning and conical distortion of the cornea resulting in the loss of its refractive ability and progressive reduction of visual acuity. The disease usually occurs in adolescence up to about the age of 20.In the early stages of the disease, vision can be corrected with glasses. Subsequently, the selected means are hard contact lenses, which remain for a longer period. The last stage of the disease requires surgery and corneal transplant from a donor.The article presents the modern treatment method Crosslinking, that uses riboflavin and UV light to create new collagen connections and sealing corneal keratoplasty, as well as a surgical alternative to keratoplasty - implantation of intrastromal corneal rings, leading to flattening of the cornea and strengthening of the corneal layer. An algorithm is presented for the quality of health care in the preoperative and postoperative patient after keratoplasty and a training program for the patient at home. The algorithm of behavior will contribute to the quality of care and help patients avoid complications at home

Sliderule-like property of Wigner's little groups and cyclic S-matrices for multilayer optics

It is noted that two-by-two S-matrices in multilayer optics can be represented by the Sp(2) group whose algebraic property is the same as the group of Lorentz transformations applicable to two space-like and one time-like dimensions. It is noted also that Wigner's little groups have a sliderule-like property which allows us to perform multiplications by additions. It is shown that these two mathematical properties lead to a cyclic representation of the S-matrix for multilayer optics, as in the case of ABCD matrices for laser cavities. It is therefore possible to write the N-layer S-matrix as a multiplication of the N single-layer S-matrices resulting in the same mathematical expression with one of the parameters multiplied by N. In addition, it is noted, as in the case of lens optics, multilayer optics can serve as an analogue computer for the contraction of Wigner's little groups for internal space-time symmetries of relativistic particles.Comment: RevTex 13 pages, Secs. IV and V revised and expande

A case of non-compaction cardiomyopathy

The aim of this case report was to present a rare myocardial disease, the so-called isolated non-compaction cardiomyopathy (NCCM). This disorder, a primary genetic cardiomyopathy, attracts increasing attention. A woman with a sudden onset of shortness of breath and isolated NCCM is described. Criteria for diagnosis as well as echocardiographic findings and magnetic resonance imaging of the heart are presented. Although rare, a new option of myocardial disease with various modes of clinical presentation but, most commonly, with acute or chronic heart failure should be taken into consideration. Multiple imaging modalities are available and should be used for proper diagnosis.Scripta Scientifica Medica 2013; 45(3): 86-89

Development of a Fabry-Perot Interferometer for Ultra-Precise Measurements of Column CO2

A passive Fabry-Perot based instrument is described for detecting column CO2 through absorption measurements at 1.58 microns . In this design, solar flux reaches the instrument platform and is directed through two channels. In the first channel, transmittance fi5nges from a Fabry-Perot interferometer are aligned with CO2 absorption lines so that absorption due to CO2 is primarily detected. The second channel encompasses the same frequency region as the first, but is comparatively more sensitive to changes in the solar flux than absorption due to CO2. The ratio of these channels is sensitive to changes in the total CO2 column, but not to changes in solar flux. This inexpensive instrument will offer high precision measurements (error 4%) in a compact package. Design of this instrument and preliminary ground-based measurements of column CO2 are presented here as well as strategies for deployment on aircraft and satellite platforms