2,969 research outputs found
Anisotropy and Order of Epitaxial Self-Assembled Quantum Dots
Epitaxial self-assembled quantum dots (SAQDs) represent an important step in
the advancement of semiconductor fabrication at the nanoscale that will allow
breakthroughs in electronics and optoelectronics. In these applications, order
is a key factor. Here, the role of crystal anisotropy in promoting order during
early stages of SAQD formation is studied through a linear analysis of a
commonly used surface evolution model. Elastic anisotropy is used a specific
example. It is found that there are two relevant and predictable correlation
lengths. One of them is related to crystal anisotropy and is crucial for
determining SAQD order. Furthermore, if a wetting potential is included in the
model, it is found that SAQD order is enhanced when the deposited film is
allowed to evolve at heights near the critical surface height for
three-dimensional film growth.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur
Second fundamental form of the Prym map in the ramified case
In this paper we study the second fundamental form of the Prym map in the ramified case .
We give an expression of it in terms of the second fundamental form of the
Torelli map of the covering curves. We use this expression to give an upper
bound for the dimension of a germ of a totally geodesic submanifold, and hence
of a Shimura subvariety of , contained in the
Prym locus.Comment: To appear in Galois Covers, Grothendieck-Teichmueller Theory and
Dessins d'Enfants - Interactions between Geometry, Topology, Number Theory
and Algebra. Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics. arXiv admin
note: text overlap with arXiv:1711.0342
Assessing Parental Self-Efficacy for Obesity Prevention Related Behaviors
Background: Reliable, valid and theoretically consistent measures that assess a parent’s self-efficacy for helping a child with obesity prevention behaviors are lacking.
Objectives: To develop measures of parental self-efficacy for four behaviors: 1) helping their child get at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity every day, 2) helping one’s child consume five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, 3) limiting sugary drinks to once a week, and 4) limiting consumption of fruit juice to 6 ounces every day.
Methods: Sequential methods of scale development were used. An item pool was generated based on theory and qualitative interviews, and reviewed by content experts. Scales were administered to parents or legal guardians of children 4–10 years old. The item pool was reduced using principal component analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis tested the resulting models in a separate sample.
Subjects: 304 parents, majority were women (88%), low-income (61%) and single parents (61%). Ethnic distribution was 40% Black and 37% white.
Results: All scales had excellent fit indices: Comparative fit index \u3e .98 and chi-squares (Pediatrics 120 Suppl 4:S229-253, 2007) = .85 – 7.82. Alphas and one-week test-retest ICC’s were ≥ .80. Significant correlations between self-efficacy scale scores and their corresponding behaviors ranged from .13-.29 (all p \u3c .03).
Conclusions: We developed four, four-item self-efficacy scales with excellent psychometric properties and construct validity using diverse samples of parents
How to write health dialog for a talking computer
AbstractAutomated dialogue systems delivered over the telephone offer a promising approach to delivering health-related interventions to populations of individuals at low-cost. Over the past two decades, an automated telephone system called Telephone-Linked Care or TLC has been successfully designed and evaluated by the authors and their colleagues. This work has resulted in over twenty systems for various health-related conditions and lifestyle behaviors. This paper describes our approach to developing and writing dialogue for these automated telephone systems, including determining the program objectives, defining the target population, and selecting a theory of behavior change to guide the intervention. Both macro and micro issues are considered in constructing dialogue systems that are engaging for the target population, easy to use, and effective at promoting positive health behaviors and outcomes
A study of consecutive competitive reaction systems
Experimental kinetic data are most conveniently correlated by the integrated form of the differential rate equations which the reactions are presumed to obey. A new method of obtaining an approximate integral solution of the differential equations is described and applied to a set of three consecutive competitive reactions. The approximate integral solution is used to correlate experimental data on systems whose stoichiometry would indicate a consecutivecompetitive mechanism. The compositions of the reaction mixes are predicted with a standard error of estimate of less than 4% of the original concentration of the initiating reactant, in most cases less than 2%. The estimates of the rate constants, found by fitting the approximate solution to the data, are within experimental error of the values obtained by differentiation of the published results.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/37325/1/690080503_ftp.pd
Plasma Panel Sensors for Particle and Beam Detection
The plasma panel sensor (PPS) is an inherently digital, high gain, novel
variant of micropattern gas detectors inspired by many operational and
fabrication principles common to plasma display panels (PDPs). The PPS is
comprised of a dense array of small, plasma discharge, gas cells within a
hermetically-sealed glass panel, and is assembled from non-reactive,
intrinsically radiation-hard materials such as glass substrates, metal
electrodes and mostly inert gas mixtures. We are developing the technology to
fabricate these devices with very low mass and small thickness, using gas gaps
of at least a few hundred micrometers. Our tests with these devices demonstrate
a spatial resolution of about 1 mm. We intend to make PPS devices with much
smaller cells and the potential for much finer position resolutions. Our PPS
tests also show response times of several nanoseconds. We report here our
results in detecting betas, cosmic-ray muons, and our first proton beam tests.Comment: 2012 IEEE NS
Global Stability of a Premixed Reaction Zone (Time-Dependent Liñan’s Problem)
Global stability properties of a premixed, three-dimensional reaction zone are considered. In the nonadiabatic case (i.e., when there is a heat exchange between the reaction zone and the burned gases) there is a unique, spatially one-dimensional steady state that is shown to be unstable (respectively, asymptotically stable) if the reaction zone is cooled (respectively, heated) by the burned mixture. In the adiabatic case, there is a unique (up to spatial translations) steady state that is shown to be stable. In addition, the large-time asymptotic behavior of the solution is analyzed to obtain sufficient conditions on the initial data for stabilization. Previous partial numerical results on linear stability of one-dimensional reaction zones are thereby confirmed and extended
Anomalies, Dualities, and Topology of D=6 N=1 Superstring Vacua
We consider various aspects of compactifications of the Type I/heterotic
theory on K3. One family of such compactifications includes the
standard embedding of the spin connection in the gauge group, and is on the
same moduli space as the compactification of the heterotic
theory on K3 with instanton numbers (8,16). Another class, which includes an
orbifold of the Type I theory recently constructed by Gimon and Polchinski and
whose field theory limit involves some topological novelties, is on the moduli
space of the heterotic theory on K3 with instanton numbers
(12,12). These connections between and models
can be demonstrated by T duality, and permit a better understanding of
non-perturbative gauge fields in the (12,12) model. In the transformation
between and models, the strong/weak coupling
duality of the (12,12) model is mapped to T duality in the Type
I theory. The gauge and gravitational anomalies in the Type I theory are
canceled by an extension of the Green-Schwarz mechanism.Comment: 48 page
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Risk Model Development and Validation for Prediction of Coronary Artery Aneurysms in Kawasaki Disease in a North American Population.
Background Accurate prediction of coronary artery aneurysms ( CAAs ) in patients with Kawasaki disease remains challenging in North American cohorts. We sought to develop and validate a risk model for CAA prediction. Methods and Results A binary outcome of CAA was defined as left anterior descending or right coronary artery Z score ≥2.5 at 2 to 8 weeks after fever onset in a development cohort (n=903) and a validation cohort (n=185) of patients with Kawasaki disease. Associations of baseline clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic variables with later CAA were assessed in the development cohort using logistic regression. Discrimination (c statistic) and calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow) of the final model were evaluated. A practical risk score assigning points to each variable in the final model was created based on model coefficients from the development cohort. Predictors of CAAs at 2 to 8 weeks were baseline Z score of left anterior descending or right coronary artery ≥2.0, age <6 months, Asian race, and C-reactive protein ≥13 mg/ dL (c=0.82 in the development cohort, c=0.93 in the validation cohort). The CAA risk score assigned 2 points for baseline Z score of left anterior descending or right coronary artery ≥2.0 and 1 point for each of the other variables, with creation of low- (0-1), moderate- (2), and high- (3-5) risk groups. The odds of CAA s were 16-fold greater in the high- versus the low-risk groups in the development cohort (odds ratio, 16.4; 95% CI , 9.71-27.7 [ P<0.001]), and >40-fold greater in the validation cohort (odds ratio, 44.0; 95% CI, 10.8-180 [ P<0.001]). Conclusions Our risk model for CAA in Kawasaki disease consisting of baseline demographic, laboratory, and echocardiographic variables had excellent predictive utility and should undergo prospective testing
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