Contributions to planetary meteorology Final report

Atmospheric circulation and climatology of Venus and Mar

On-board demux/demod

To make satellite channels cost competitive with optical cables, the use of small, inexpensive earth stations with reduced antenna size and high powered amplifier (HPA) power will be needed. This will necessitate the use of high e.i.r.p. and gain-to-noise temperature ratio (G/T) multibeam satellites. For a multibeam satellite, onboard switching is required in order to maintain the needed connectivity between beams. This switching function can be realized by either an receive frequency (RF) or a baseband unit. The baseband switching approach has the additional advantage of decoupling the up-link and down-link, thus enabling rate and format conversion as well as improving the link performance. A baseband switching satellite requires the demultiplexing and demodulation of the up-link carriers before they can be switched to their assigned down-link beams. Principles of operation, design and implementation issues of such an onboard demultiplexer/demodulator (bulk demodulator) that was recently built at COMSAT Labs. are discussed

Perceptions of knowledge sharing among small family firm leaders: a structural equation model

Small family firms have many unique relational qualities with implications for how knowledge is passed between individuals. Extant literature posits leadership approach as important in explaining differences in knowledge-sharing climate from one firm to another. This study investigates how leadership approaches interact with family influence to inform perceptions of knowledge sharing. We utilize survey data (n = 110) from owner-managers of knowledge-intensive small family firms in Scotland. Our findings present a choice in leadership intention, contrasting organization-focused participation against family-influenced guidance. Insight is offered on the implications of this leadership choice at both organizational and familial level

EFFECTS OF BACKWARD WALKING AS A MODALITY FOR LOW BACK PAIN REDUCTION IN ATHLETES

The therapeutic effectiveness of backward walking for treatment of low back pain (LBP) was examined among athletes experiencing LBP and healthy non-athletes. All participants were pre-tested walking backward, performed 10-15 mins of backward walking three days/week for three weeks and were post-tested. Low back sagittal and coronal plane range of motion, shock attenuation (SA), stride length (SL), stride rate (SR), velocity and LBP were evaluated (α=0.05). All variables were significantly different between groups, excluding SA. Velocity, SL and SR were significantly different pre vs post. Owing to the clinical nature of this study, single-subject analyses were performed and identified unique individual responses to the intervention. Results suggest that backward walking may assist some athletes presenting with LBP

Single-charge detection by an atomic precision tunnel junction

We demonstrate sensitive detection of single charges using a planar tunnel junction 8.5 nm wide and 17.2 nm long defined by an atomically precise phosphorus doping profile in silicon. The conductance of the junction responds to a nearby gate potential and also to changes in the charge state of a quantum dot patterned 52 nm away. The response of this detector is monotonic across the entire working voltage range of the device, which will make it particularly useful for studying systems of multiple quantum dots. The charge sensitivity is maximized when the junction is most conductive, suggesting that more sensitive detection can be achieved by shortening the length of the junction to increase its conductance

Yes, subjective norms are important, but let's not lose sight of cultural differences

The study of social norms has great potential to broaden our understanding of the ways in which cultures are created and maintained. To maximise the benefit of this perspective, it is important to sample cultures widely and to include contexts in which norms are injunctiv

Technology for large-scale translation of clinical practice guidelines : a pilot study of the performance of a hybrid human and computer-assisted approach

Background: The construction of EBMPracticeNet, a national electronic point-of-care information platform in Belgium, was initiated in 2011 to optimize quality of care by promoting evidence-based decision-making. The project involved, among other tasks, the translation of 940 EBM Guidelines of Duodecim Medical Publications from English into Dutch and French. Considering the scale of the translation process, it was decided to make use of computer-aided translation performed by certificated translators with limited expertise in medical translation. Our consortium used a hybrid approach, involving a human translator supported by a translation memory (using SDL Trados Studio), terminology recognition (using SDL Multiterm termbases) from medical termbases and support from online machine translation. This has resulted in a validated translation memory which is now in use for the translation of new and updated guidelines. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the hybrid human and computer-assisted approach in comparison with translation unsupported by translation memory and terminology recognition. A comparison was also made with the translation efficiency of an expert medical translator. Methods: We conducted a pilot trial in which two sets of 30 new and 30 updated guidelines were randomized to one of three groups. Comparable guidelines were translated (a) by certificated junior translators without medical specialization using the hybrid method (b) by an experienced medical translator without this support and (c) by the same junior translators without the support of the validated translation memory. A medical proofreader who was blinded for the translation procedure, evaluated the translated guidelines for acceptability and adequacy. Translation speed was measured by recording translation and post-editing time. The Human Translation Edit Rate was calculated as a metric to evaluate the quality of the translation. A further evaluation was made of translation acceptability and adequacy. Results: The average number of words per guideline was 1,195 and the mean total translation time was 100.2 min/1,000 words. No meaningful differences were found in the translation speed for new guidelines. The translation of updated guidelines was 59 min/1,000 words faster (95% CI 2-115; P=.044) in the computer-aided group. Revisions due to terminology accounted for one third of the overall revisions by the medical proofreader. Conclusions: Use of the hybrid human and computer-aided translation by a non-expert translator makes the translation of updates of clinical practice guidelines faster and cheaper because of the benefits of translation memory. For the translation of new guidelines there was no apparent benefit in comparison with the efficiency of translation unsupported by translation memory (whether by an expert or non-expert translator

Transgastric Pancreatic Necrosectomy: How I Do It

Necrotizing pancreatitis is a serious medical problem that often requires intervention to debride necrotic pancreatic and peripancreatic tissue. Recently, minimally invasive approaches have been applied to pancreatic necrosectomy. The purpose of this report is to review the history of transgastric pancreatic debridement, identify appropriate patient selection criteria, and highlight technical “pearls.” We present this subject matter in the context of our own clinical experience, with a primary focus on a “How I Do It” type of technical description