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

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

Musical preferences and technologies: Contemporary material and symbolic distinctions criticised

Today how individuals interact with various cultural items is not perfectly consistent with theoretical frameworks of influential scholars on cultural consumption, such as Bourdieu (1984), Gans (1999), and Peterson and Simkus (1992). One such variation is in the ever increasing variety of technological modes to acquire and listen to music (Pinch and Bijsterveld, 2004). However, as a consequence of digital divides (van Dijk, 2006), technological items may not be distributed equally among social groups. At present, the value of status-making through a preference for different genres of music extends itself to different forms of consumption and ways of experiencing music. We are yet to fully understand the power these practices have on generating status. This article is therefore motivated by the need to integrate within quantitative frameworks of taste and cultural consumption, an analysis of individuals’ technological engagement. These two dimensions, integrated as components of musical practices, enhance our understanding of cultural boundaries across different social groups.The objective is to bridge a gap detected in the literature, addressing the following questions: Are technological modes to listen to music related to musical tastes

Detecting Stress in Glasshouse Plants Using Color Infrared Imagery: A Potential New Application for Remote Sensing

English: Studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of color infrared (CIR) film for detecting physiological stress in plants located within glasshouse structures. Spectroradiometer measurements obtained within and outside of a structure constructed of polycarbonate plastic indicated no significant attenuation or disruption of visible and near-infrared radiation entering the structure. CIR photographs of cucumber seedlings (Cucumis sativus) obtained within the greenhouse were comparable in quality to those obtained outside the structure, and clearly distinguished between foliage of healthy plants and those subjected to a moderate level of nitrogen stress. In CIR imagery of a trifoliate orange tree (Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf.) obtained within a greenhouse constructed of yellow fiberglass panels, leaves damaged by citrus red mites (Panonychus citri [McGregor]) were distinguishable from healthy foliage, and the distribution of damaged leaves on the tree itself was clearly evident. These results suggest that remote sensing techniques which have been used successfully to monitor conventional field crops are readily extendable to the commercial glasshouse environment with certain modifications. Spanish: Se condujeron estudios para evaluar la eficacia de la película infrarroja de color (CIR) para detectar el estrés fisiológico en las plantas situadas dentro de un invernadero. Las mediciones del spectroradiómetro obtenidas dentro y fuera de un invernadero construido con plástico de policarbonato no indicaron ninguna atenuación o interrupción significativa de la radiación visible y del cercano infrarrojo que penetraba al invernadero. Las fotografías con CIR de las plantas de semillero de pepino (Cucumis sativus) obtenidas dentro del invernadero fueron comparables en calidad a aquellas obtenidas fuera de este, y distinguieron claramente entre el follaje de plantas sanas y de aquellas sometidas a un nivel moderado de estrés de nitrógeno. En imágenes de CIR de un naranjo trifoliado (Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf.) obtenidas dentro de un invernadero construido de paneles amarillos de fibra de vidrio, las hojas dañadas por el ácaro rojo de los cítricos (Panonychus citri [McGregor]) se distinguieron del follaje sano, y la distribución de hojas dañadas en el árbol mismo fueron claramente evidentes. Estos resultados sugieren que las técnicas de detección a distancia que se han utilizado con éxito para supervisar campos de cultivo convencionales, también pueden usarse fácilmente, con algunas modificaciones, en cultivos comerciales en invernadero

The Paradox of Power in CSR: A Case Study on Implementation

Purpose Although current literature assumes positive outcomes for stakeholders resulting from an increase in power associated with CSR, this research suggests that this increase can lead to conflict within organizations, resulting in almost complete inactivity on CSR. Methods A single in-depth case study, focusing on power as an embedded concept. Results Empirical evidence is used to demonstrate how some actors use CSR to improve their own positions within an organization. Resource dependence theory is used to highlight why this may be a more significant concern for CSR. Conclusions Increasing power for CSR has the potential to offer actors associated with it increased personal power, and thus can attract opportunistic actors with little interest in realizing the benefits of CSR for the company and its stakeholders. Thus power can be an impediment to furthering CSR strategy and activities at the individual and organizational level

Model Analysis of Time Reversal Symmetry Test in the Caltech Fe-57 Gamma-Transition Experiment

The CALTECH gamma-transition experiment testing time reversal symmetry via the E2/M1 mulipole mixing ratio of the 122 keV gamma-line in Fe-57 has already been performed in 1977. Extending an earlier analysis in terms of an effective one-body potential, this experiment is now analyzed in terms of effective one boson exchange T-odd P-even nucleon nucleon potentials. Within the model space considered for the Fe-57 nucleus no contribution from isovector rho-type exchange is possible. The bound on the coupling strength phi_A from effective short range axial-vector type exchange induced by the experimental bound on sin(eta) leads to phi_A < 10^{-2}.Comment: 5 pages, RevTex 3.

Neurodevelopmental outcomes at 7 years’ corrected age in preterm infants who were fed high-dose docosahexaenoic acid to term equivalent: a follow-up of a randomised controlled trial

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work noncommercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/OBJECTIVE: To determine if improvements in cognitive outcome detected at 18 months' corrected age (CA) in infants born <33 weeks' gestation receiving a high-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) compared with standard-DHA diet were sustained in early childhood. DESIGN: Follow-up of a multicentre randomised controlled trial. Randomisation was stratified for sex, birth weight (<1250 vs ≥1250 g) and hospital. SETTING: Five Australian tertiary hospitals from 2008 to 2013. PARTICIPANTS: 626 of the 657 participants randomised between 2001 and 2005 were eligible to participate. INTERVENTIONS: High-DHA (≈1% total fatty acids) enteral feeds compared with standard-DHA (≈0.3% total fatty acids) from age 2-4 days until term CA. PRIMARY OUTCOME: Full Scale IQ of the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) at 7 years CA. Prespecified subgroup analyses based on the randomisation strata (sex, birth weight) were conducted. RESULTS: 604 (92% of the 657 originally randomised) consented to participate (291 high-DHA, 313 standard-DHA). To address missing data in the 604 consenting participants (22 for primary outcome), multiple imputation was performed. The Full Scale IQ was not significantly different between groups (high-DHA 98.3, SD 14.0, standard-DHA 98.5, SD 14.9; mean difference adjusted for sex, birthweight strata and hospital -0.3, 95% CI -2.9 to 2.2; p=0.79). There were no significant differences in any secondary outcomes. In prespecified subgroup analyses, there was a significant sex by treatment interaction on measures of parent-reported executive function and behaviour. Scores were within the normal range but girls receiving the high-DHA diet scored significantly higher (poorer outcome) compared with girls receiving the standard-DHA diet. CONCLUSIONS: Supplementing the diets of preterm infants with a DHA dose of approximately 1% total fatty acids from days 2-4 until term CA showed no evidence of benefit at 7 years' CA. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12606000327583

Quantum Particles as Conceptual Entities: A Possible Explanatory Framework for Quantum Theory

We put forward a possible new interpretation and explanatory framework for quantum theory. The basic hypothesis underlying this new framework is that quantum particles are conceptual entities. More concretely, we propose that quantum particles interact with ordinary matter, nuclei, atoms, molecules, macroscopic material entities, measuring apparatuses, ..., in a similar way to how human concepts interact with memory structures, human minds or artificial memories. We analyze the most characteristic aspects of quantum theory, i.e. entanglement and non-locality, interference and superposition, identity and individuality in the light of this new interpretation, and we put forward a specific explanation and understanding of these aspects. The basic hypothesis of our framework gives rise in a natural way to a Heisenberg uncertainty principle which introduces an understanding of the general situation of 'the one and the many' in quantum physics. A specific view on macro and micro different from the common one follows from the basic hypothesis and leads to an analysis of Schrodinger's Cat paradox and the measurement problem different from the existing ones. We reflect about the influence of this new quantum interpretation and explanatory framework on the global nature and evolutionary aspects of the world and human worldviews, and point out potential explanations for specific situations, such as the generation problem in particle physics, the confinement of quarks and the existence of dark matter.Comment: 45 pages, 10 figure

Long term follow up of high risk children: who, why and how?

Background: Most babies are born healthy and grow and develop normally through childhood. There are, however, clearly identifiable high-risk groups of survivors, such as those born preterm or with ill-health, who are destined to have higher than expected rates of health or developmental problems, and for whom more structured and specialised follow-up programs are warranted. Discussion This paper presents the results of a two-day workshop held in Melbourne, Australia, to discuss neonatal populations in need of more structured follow-up and why, in addition to how, such a follow-up programme might be structured. Issues discussed included the ages of follow-up, and the personnel and assessment tools that might be required. Challenges for translating results into both clinical practice and research were identified. Further issues covered included information sharing, best practice for families and research gaps. Summary A substantial minority of high-risk children has long-term medical, developmental and psychological adverse outcomes and will consume extensive health and education services as they grow older. Early intervention to prevent adverse outcomes and the effective integration of services once problems are identified may reduce the prevalence and severity of certain outcomes, and will contribute to an efficient and effective use of health resources. The shared long-term goal for families and professionals is to work toward ensuring that high risk children maximise their potential and become productive and valued members of society. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2431-14-279) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users