16,626 research outputs found
Building application of solar energy. Study no. 4: Scenarios for the utilization of solar energy in southern California buildings, change 1
Plausible future market scenarios for solar heating and cooling systems into buildings in the area served by the Southern California Edison Company. A range of plausible estimates for the number of solar systems which might be installed and the electrical energy which might be displaced by energy from these systems are provided. The effect on peak electrical load was not explicitly calculated but preliminary conclusions concerning peak load can be inferred from the estimates presented. Two markets are investigated: the single family market and the large power commercial market
On the dominance of J(P)=0(+) ground states in even-even nuclei from random two-body interactions
Recent calculations using random two-body interactions showed a preponderance
of J(P)=0(+) ground states, despite the fact that there is no strong pairing
character in the force. We carry out an analysis of a system of identical
particles occupying orbits with j=1/2, 3/2 and 5/2 and discuss some general
features of the spectra derived from random two-body interactions. We show that
for random two-body interactions that are not time-reversal invariant the
dominance of 0(+) states in this case is more pronounced, indicating that
time-reversal invariance cannot be the origin of the 0(+) dominance.Comment: 8 pages, 3 tables and 3 figures. Phys. Rev. C, in pres
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DEveloping a Complex Intervention for DEteriorating Patients using Theoretical Modelling (DECIDE study): study protocol
AIM: To develop a theory-based complex intervention (targeting nursing staff), to enhance enablers and overcome barriers to enacting expected behaviour when monitoring patients and responding to abnormal vital signs that signal deterioration.
DESIGN: A mixed method design including structured observations on hospital wards, field notes, brief, un-recorded interviews and semi-structured interviews to inform the development of an intervention to enhance practice.
METHODS: Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with nursing staff using a topic guide informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework. Semi-structured interviews will be transcribed verbatim and coded deductively into the 14 Theoretical Domains Framework domains and then inductively into 'belief statements'. Priority domains will be identified and mapped to appropriate behaviour change techniques. Intervention content and mode of delivery (how behaviour change techniques are operationalised) will be developed using nominal groups, during which participants (clinicians) will rank behaviour change techniques /mode of delivery combinations according to acceptability and feasibility. Findings will be synthesised to develop an intervention manual.
DISCUSSION: Despite being a priority for clinicians, researchers and policymakers for two decades, 'sub-optimal care' of the deteriorating ward patient persists. Existing interventions have been largely educational (i.e., targeting assumed knowledge deficits) with limited evidence that they change staff behaviour. Staff behaviour when monitoring and responding to abnormal vital signs is likely influenced by a range of mediators that includes barriers and enablers.
IMPACT: Systematically applying theory and evidence-based methods, will result in the specification of an intervention which is more likely to result in behaviour change and can be tested empirically in future research. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Time outdoors and the prevention of myopia
Recent epidemiological evidence suggests that children who spend more time outdoors are less likely to be, or to become myopic, irrespective of how much near work they do, or whether their parents are myopic. It is currently uncertain if time outdoors also blocks progression of myopia. It has been suggested that the mechanism of the protective effect of time outdoors involves light-stimulated release of dopamine from the retina, since increased dopamine release appears to inhibit increased axial elongation, which is the structural basis of myopia. This hypothesis has been supported by animal experiments which have replicated the protective effects of bright light against the development of myopia under laboratory conditions, and have shown that the effect is, at least in part, mediated by dopamine, since the D2-dopamine antagonist spiperone reduces the protective effect. There are some inconsistencies in the evidence, most notably the limited inhibition by bright light under laboratory conditions of lens-induced myopia in monkeys, but other proposed mechanisms possibly associated with time outdoors such as relaxed accommodation, more uniform dioptric space, increased pupil constriction, exposure to UV light,
changes in the spectral composition of visible light, or increased physical activity have little epidemiological
or experimental support. Irrespective of the mechanisms involved, clinical trials are now underway
to reduce the development of myopia in children by increasing the amount of time they spend outdoors. These trials would benefit from more precise definition of thresholds for protection in terms of intensity and duration of light exposures. These can be investigated in animal experiments in appropriate models, and can also be determined in epidemiological studies, although more precise measurement of exposures than those currently provided by questionnaires is desirable
Clinical, histological and prognostic features of a novel nail-bed lesion of cats: 41 cases
There is a distinct subset of lesions arising on the digits of cats, located at or close to the nail-bed epithelium, which are typically composed of proliferative fibroblast-like cells, multinucleate giant cells and areas of osseous metaplasia, but currently there is no published literature detailing the clinical or histological features of these lesions. This study identified 41 such cases from two large commercial diagnostic laboratories and assessed various histological and clinical features; 22 cases had additional follow-up data available
Preparations for Independence and Financial Security in Later Life: A Conceptual Framework and Application to Canada
In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework to describe an individual's preparations for later life. Situated in the life course perspective, this provides a framework that invites a more comprehensive and systematic study of preparations for later life. It describes a dynamic process that portrays the interplay between social structure and human agency. Through its consideration of collective preparations (the public protection programs offered by the state), individual preparations (financial and non- financial), and the interplay between the two, this framework provides fresh insight into the existing literature on retirement planning, the timing of retirement, savings, and consumption behaviour in later life. Moreover, the model may be used to structure research questions, to guide policy decision making and to point the direction for the design and content of future research studies. While the purpose of this paper is primarily the development of a conceptual model, we draw on empirical examples from the 1991 Survey of Aging and Independence (SAI) to illustrate some aspects of the model to Canada. We conclude by suggesting a number of research and questions that may be generated from the model.retirement planning; savings; SAI
Finite-element nonlinear transient response computer programs PLATE 1 and CIVM-PLATE 1 for the analysis of panels subjected to impulse or impact loads
Two computer programs are described for predicting the transient large deflection elastic viscoplastic responses of thin single layer, initially flat unstiffened or integrally stiffened, Kirchhoff-Lov ductile metal panels. The PLATE 1 program pertains to structural responses produced by prescribed externally applied transient loading or prescribed initial velocity distributions. The collision imparted velocity method PLATE 1 program concerns structural responses produced by impact of an idealized nondeformable fragment. Finite elements are used to represent the structure in both programs. Strain hardening and strain rate effects of initially isotropic material are considered
Hydrogen Dissociation and Diffusion on Ni and Ti -doped Mg(0001) Surfaces
It is well known, both theoretically and experimentally, that alloying
MgH with transition elements can significantly improve the thermodynamic
and kinetic properties for H desorption, as well as the H intake by Mg
bulk. Here we present a density functional theory investigation of hydrogen
dissociation and surface diffusion over Ni-doped surface, and compare the
findings to previously investigated Ti-doped Mg(0001) and pure Mg(0001)
surfaces. Our results show that the energy barrier for hydrogen dissociation on
the pure Mg(0001) surface is high, while it is small/null when Ni/Ti are added
to the surface as dopants. We find that the binding energy of the two H atoms
near the dissociation site is high on Ti, effectively impeding diffusion away
from the Ti site. By contrast, we find that on Ni the energy barrier for
diffusion is much reduced. Therefore, although both Ti and Ni promote H
dissociation, only Ni appears to be a good catalyst for Mg hydrogenation,
allowing diffusion away from the catalytic sites. Experimental results
corroborate these theoretical findings, i.e. faster hydrogenation of the Ni
doped Mg sample as opposed to the reference Mg or Ti doped Mg.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, to appear in Journal of Chemical Physic
Gamma-ray bursts and X-ray melting of material as a potential source of chondrules and planets
The intense radiation from a gamma-ray burst (GRB) is shown to be capable of
melting stony material at distances up to 300 light years which subsequently
cool to form chondrules. These conditions were created in the laboratory for
the first time when millimeter sized pellets were placed in a vacuum chamber in
the white synchrotron beam at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
(ESRF). The pellets were rapidly heated in the X-ray and gamma-ray furnace to
above 1400 C melted and cooled. This process heats from the inside unlike
normal furnaces. The melted spherical samples were examined with a range of
techniques and found to have microstructural properties similar to the
chondrules that come from meteorites. This experiment demonstrates that GRBs
can melt precursor material to form chondrules that may subsequently influence
the formation of planets. This work extends the field of laboratory
astrophysics to include high power synchrotron sources.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures. Proceedings of the 5th INTEGRAL Workshop, Munich
16-20 February 2004. High resolution figures available at
http://bermuda.ucd.ie/%7Esmcbreen/papers/duggan_01.pd
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