879 research outputs found
The soundscape of neonatal intensive care: a mixed-methods study of the parentsâ experience
Parents who have infants hospitalised in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) experience high levels of stress, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, whether sounds contribute to parentsâ stress remains largely unknown. Critically, researchers lack a com-prehensive instrument to investigate the relationship between sounds in NICUs and parental stress. To address this gap, this report presents the âSoundscape of NICU Questionnaireâ (SON-Q), which was developed specifically to capture parentsâ perceptions and beliefs about the impact that sound had on them and their infants, from pre-birth throughout the NICU stay and in the first postdischarge period. Parents of children born preterm (n = 386) completed the SON-Q and the Perinatal PTSD Questionnaire (PPQ). Principal Component Analysis identifying underly-ing dimensions comprising the parental experience of the NICU soundscape was followed by an exploration of the relationships between subscales of the SON-Q and the PPQ. Moderation analy-sis was carried out to further elucidate relationships between variables. Finally, thematic analy-sis was employed to analyse one memory of sounds in NICU open question. The results highlight systematic associations between aspects of the NICU soundscape and parental stress/trauma. The findings underscore the importance of developing specific studies in this area and devising inter-ventions to best support parentsâ mental health, which could in turn support infantsâ develop-mental outcomes
The uniqueome: a mappability resource for short-tag sequencing
Summary: Quantification applications of short-tag sequencing data (such as CNVseq and RNAseq) depend on knowing the uniqueness of specific genomic regions at a given threshold of error. Here, we present the âuniqueomeâ, a genomic resource for understanding the uniquely mappable proportion of genomic sequences. Pre-computed data are available for human, mouse, fly and worm genomes in both color-space and nucletotide-space, and we demonstrate the utility of this resource as applied to the quantification of RNAseq data
A Model for Fast Rising, Slowly Decaying Subpulses in Gamma-Ray Bursts
Gamma ray bursts (GRB's) often feature subpulses that have a distinctively
asymmetric profile -- they rise quickly and decay much more slowly, while their
spectrum softens slightly with observer time. It is suggested that these
subpulses are caused by slow baryonic clouds embedded within a primary
-ray beam, which scatter the -radiation into our line of sight
as they accelerate. Good quantitative agreement is obtained with observed light
curves and spectral evolution. The kinetic energy that the baryonic component
of GRB jets receives from the primary -radiation is predicted to be
about equal to the amount of -radiation that is scattered, consistent
with observations of afterglow. Several other observational consequences are
briefly discussed. The possibility is raised that the time scale of short GRB
is established by radiative acceleration and/or baryon injection rather than
the time scale of the central engine.Comment: Submitted to ApJ
An efficient CDMA decoder for correlated information sources
We consider the detection of correlated information sources in the ubiquitous
Code-Division Multiple-Access (CDMA) scheme. We propose a message-passing based
scheme for detecting correlated sources directly, with no need for source
coding. The detection is done simultaneously over a block of transmitted binary
symbols (word). Simulation results are provided demonstrating a substantial
improvement in bit-error-rate in comparison with the unmodified detector and
the alternative of source compression. The robustness of the error-performance
improvement is shown under practical model settings, including wrong estimation
of the generating Markov transition matrix and finite-length spreading codes.Comment: 11 page
A new measurement of the 7Li(d,p)8Li cross section and consequences for 7Be(p,gamma)8B
A novel scheme for measuring the cross section of the 7Be(p,gamma)8B
reaction, the major source of high energy neutrinos from t he sun, is
presented. The scheme involves a strictly uniform particle beam and overcomes
some of the recognized experimental uncertainties of previous measurements. A
new measurement of sigma[7Li(d,p)8Li] has been carried out using this setup,and
the present value of sigma[7Li(d,p)8Li] = 155(8) mbarn at the top of the
E_d(lab.)= 776 keV resonance is compared to previous measurements. A new issue
regarding both the (d,p) and (p,gamma) reactions has been examined:
reaction-product nuclei which are backscattered out of the target. Measurements
and simulations carried out in the course of this investigation are presented
and discussed in the context of possible effects on the measured cross sections
of these reactions.Comment: 4 figure
A Web-based archive of systematic review data
Systematic reviews have become increasingly critical to informing healthcare policy; however, they remain a time-consuming and labor-intensive activity. The extraction of data from constituent studies comprises a significant portion of this effort, an activity which is often needlessly duplicated, such as when attempting to update a previously conducted review or in reviews of overlapping topics
3D lithium ion batteriesâfrom fundamentals to fabrication
3D microbatteries are proposed as a step change in the energy and power per footprint of surface mountable rechargeable batteries for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and other small electronic devices. Within a battery electrode, a 3D nanoarchitecture gives mesoporosity, increasing power by reducing the length of the diffusion path; in the separator region it can form the basis of a robust but porous solid, isolating the electrodes and immobilising an otherwise fluid electrolyte. 3D microarchitecture of the whole cell allows fabrication of interdigitated or interpenetrating networks that minimise the ionic path length between the electrodes in a thick cell. This article outlines the design principles for 3D microbatteries and estimates the geometrical and physical requirements of the materials. It then gives selected examples of recent progress in the techniques available for fabrication of 3D battery structures by successive deposition of electrodes, electrolytes and current collectors onto microstructured substrates by self-assembly methods
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