22,723 research outputs found
Electron yields from spacecraft materials
Photoyields and secondary electron emission (SEE) characteristics were determined under UHV conditions for a group of insulating materials used in spacecraft applications. The SEE studies were carried out with a pulsed primary beam while photoyields were obtained with a chopped photon beam from a Kr resonance source with major emission at 123.6 nm. This provides a photon flux close to that of the Lyman alpha in the space environment. Yields per incident photon are obtained relative to those from a freshly evaporated and air oxidized Al surface. Results are presented for Kapton, FEP Teflon, the borosilicate glass covering of a shuttle tile, and spacesuit outer fabric
Contemporary splinting practice in the UK for adults with neurological dysfunction: A cross-sectional survey
This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Aim: To explore the contemporary splinting practice of UK occupational therapists and physiotherapists for adults with neurological dysfunction.
Method: Cross-sectional online survey of members of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Neurology and College of Occupational Therapists Specialist Section Neurological Practice.
Results: Four hundred and twenty therapists completed the survey. Contracture management is the most common rationale for therapists splinting adults with neurological dysfunction. Other shared therapeutic goals of splinting include maintaining muscle and joint alignment, spasticity management, function, pain management and control of oedema. Considerable clinical uncertainty was uncovered in practice particularly around wearing regimens of splints. Most therapists have access to locally-derived splinting guidelines, which may contribute to this diversity of practice.
Conclusions: This study provides a unique insight into aspects of contemporary splinting practice among UK therapists, who belong to a specialist neurological professional network and work in a number of different health-care settings with adults who have a neurological condition. Study findings show a wide variation in splinting practice, thereby indicating a potential need for national guidance to assist therapists in this area of clinical uncertainty. Further research is required to establish best practice parameters for splinting in neurological rehabilitation
Medical Tourism in the Caribbean: A Call for Cooperation
Numerous Caribbean countries have discussed plans for developing medical tourism activities as a means of tourism diversification and economic development. These plans have been encouraged and shaped by outside agencies whose influence might cause a race-to-the-bottom environment between countries competing for the same niche of tourists. This paper provides a call for cooperation between local health officials in the Caribbean region to coordinate plans for the development of a medical tourism industry that enhances regional access to specialized healthcare and facilitates the movement of patients and healthcare resources throughout the region to enhance health equity and health outcomes in the Caribbean
A low-loss photonic silica nanofiber for higher-order modes
Optical nanofibers confine light to subwavelength scales, and are of interest
for the design, integration, and interconnection of nanophotonic devices. Here
we demonstrate high transmission (> 97%) of the first family of excited modes
through a 350 nm radius fiber, by appropriate choice of the fiber and precise
control of the taper geometry. We can design the nanofibers so that these modes
propagate with most of their energy outside the waist region. We also present
an optical setup for selectively launching these modes with less than 1%
fundamental mode contamination. Our experimental results are in good agreement
with simulations of the propagation. Multimode optical nanofibers expand the
photonic toolbox, and may aid in the realization of a fully integrated
nanoscale device for communication science, laser science or other sensing
applications.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, movies available onlin
The compatible conversion system
Compatible conversion system centralizes the solution of general problems arising from the use of direct access mass storage. It also provides a simple stable interface for the conversion of production programs to process on third generation computer system
Phase operators, phase states and vector phase states for SU(3) and SU(2,1)
This paper focuses on phase operators, phase states and vector phase states
for the sl(3) Lie algebra. We introduce a one-parameter generalized oscillator
algebra A(k,2) which provides a unified scheme for dealing with su(3) (for k <
0), su(2,1) (for k > 0) and h(4) x h(4) (for k = 0) symmetries. Finite- and
infinite-dimensional representations of A(k,2) are constructed for k < 0 and k
> 0 or = 0, respectively. Phase operators associated with A(k,2) are defined
and temporally stable phase states (as well as vector phase states) are
constructed as eigenstates of these operators. Finally, we discuss a relation
between quantized phase states and a quadratic discrete Fourier transform and
show how to use these states for constructing mutually unbiased bases
Status of Outer Planet Global Reference Atmospheric Model (GRAM) Upgrades
The inability to test planetary spacecraft in the flight environment prior to a mission requires engineers to rely on ground-based testing and models of the vehicle and expected environments. One of the most widely used engineering models of the atmosphere is the Global Reference Atmospheric Model (GRAM) developed and maintained by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) has provided funding support to upgrade the GRAMs
Crying Over the Inferred Existence of Spilled Milk: The Demonstrable Illogic of Ortega v. Kmart
Cortical mechanisms of sensory learning and object recognition
Learning about the world through our senses constrains our ability to recognise our surroundings. Experience shapes perception. What is the neural basis for object recognition and how are learning-induced changes in recognition manifested in neural populations? We consider first the location of neurons that appear to be critical for object recognition, before describing what is known about their function. Two complementary processes of object recognition are considered: discrimination among diagnostic object features and generalization across non-diagnostic features. Neural plasticity appears to underlie the development of discrimination and generalization for a given set of features, though tracking these changes directly over the course of learning has remained an elusive task
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