2,947 research outputs found
Einstein's Real "Biggest Blunder"
Albert Einstein's real "biggest blunder" was not the 1917 introduction into
his gravitational field equations of a cosmological constant term \Lambda,
rather was his failure in 1916 to distinguish between the entirely different
concepts of active gravitational mass and passive gravitational mass. Had he
made the distinction, and followed David Hilbert's lead in deriving field
equations from a variational principle, he might have discovered a true (not a
cut and paste) Einstein-Rosen bridge and a cosmological model that would have
allowed him to predict, long before such phenomena were imagined by others,
inflation, a big bounce (not a big bang), an accelerating expansion of the
universe, dark matter, and the existence of cosmic voids, walls, filaments, and
nodes.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX, 11 references, Honorable Mention in 2012 Gravity
Research Foundation Essay Award
Simultaneous X-ray/optical observations of GX 9+9 (4U 1728-16)
We report on the results of the first simultaneous X-ray (RXTE) and optical
(SAAO) observations of the luminous low mass X-ray binary (LMXB) GX 9+9 in 1999
August. The high-speed optical photometry revealed an orbital period of 4.1958
hr and confirmed previous observations, but with greater precision. No X-ray
modulation was found at the orbital period. On shorter timescales, a possible
1.4-hr variability was found in the optical light curves which might be related
to the mHz quasi-periodic oscillations seen in other LMXBs. We do not find any
significant X-ray/optical correlation in the light curves. In X-rays, the
colour-colour diagram and hardness-intensity diagram indicate that the source
shows characteristics of an atoll source in the upper banana state, with a
correlation between intensity and spectral hardness. Time-resolved X-ray
spectroscopy suggests that two-component spectral models give a reasonable fit
to the X-ray emission. Such models consist of a blackbody component which can
be interpreted as the emission from an optically thick accretion disc or an
optically thick boundary layer, and a hard Comptonized component for an
extended corona.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures; accepted for publication in MNRA
The fact and the fiction: A prospective study of internet forum discussions on vaginal breech birth
© 2016 Australian College of Midwives Background Women with a breech baby late in pregnancy may use the internet to gather information to assist in decision-making for birth. The aim of this study was to examine how women use English language internet discussion forums to find out information about vaginal breech birth and to increase understanding of how vaginal breech birth is perceived among women. Method A descriptive qualitative study of internet discussion forums was undertaken. Google alerts were created with the search terms âbreech birthâ and âbreechâ. Alerts were collected for a one-year period (January 2013âDecember 2013). The content of forum discussions was analysed using thematic analysis. Results A total of 50 forum discussions containing 382 comments were collected. Themes that arose from the data were: Testing the watersâwhich way should I go?; Losing hope for the chance of a normal birth; Seeking support for optionsâwho will listen to me?; Considering vaginal breech birthâa risky choice?; Staying on the âsafe sideââcaesarean section as a guarantee; Exploring the positive potential for vaginal breech birth. Conclusion Women search online for information about vaginal breech birth in an attempt to come to a place in their decision-making where they feel comfortable with their birth plan. This study highlights the need for clinicians to provide comprehensive, unbiased information on the risks and benefits of all options for breech birth to facilitate informed decision-making for the woman. This will contribute to improving the woman's confidence in distinguishing between âthe fact and the fictionâ of breech birth discussions online
Evaluation of Agricultural Statistics for ADAP
The Agricultural Development in the American Pacific (ADAP) Directors requested that the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) extend its statistical program to the ADAP region: American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (CNMI).This is the final report on the feasibility of, and our recommendations on establishing agricultural statistics in the region. The current section presents material that is generally applicable over the region, with separate sections containing relevant notes for each jurisdictionFunded through the US Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service Grant Number 92-EXCA-1-0187
How do social discourses of risk impact on womenâs choices for vaginal breech birth? A qualitative study of womenâs experiences
© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. In this article, we aim to explore the impact of social discourses of risk around childbirth on the decisions made for birth by women who planned to have a breech baby late in pregnancy. This article uses data from a qualitative descriptive study in New South Wales, Australia in 2013. In the study, we talked to 22 women about their decision-making process for planned a vaginal breech birth and the impact of social discourses of risk on this decision. In total, 12 of these women had a vaginal birth and the other 10 had a Caesarean section. In this article, we note that the mothers talked about their option for birth in a social setting in which the dominant discourse focused on the riskiness of breech birth and the vulnerability of female bodies that required medical surveillance, supervision and intervention to ensure a safe birth. Thus, for these mothers their pregnancy was seen through the societal lens of risk and medicalisation, with surgical intervention through a Caesarean section seen by society as the optimum choice. Women could resist this dominant discourse but such resistance required both justification and action, for example, the women who wanted a vaginal birth often had to resist the pressure from their families to have a Caesarean section. We identified four related strands in womenâs talk about resisting the dominate discourse: acknowledgment that they would be considered irrational for wanting a vaginal birth; having confidence in and believing that their body could give birth vaginally; convincing significant others that a vaginal birth was possible and desirable and looking for sources of support, for example, from new online social networks
Supporting Women Planning a Vaginal Breech Birth: An International Survey
© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of women who planned a vaginal breech birth. Method: An online survey was developed consisting of questions regarding women's experiences surrounding planned vaginal breech birth. The survey was distributed between April 2014 and January 2015 to closed membership Facebook groups that had a consumer focus on vaginal breech birth. Results: In total, 204 unique responses to the survey were obtained from women who had sought the option of a vaginal breech birth in a previous pregnancy. Most women (80.8%) stated that they were happy with the birth choices they made, and a significant proportion (89.4%) would attempt a vaginal breech birth in subsequent pregnancies. Less than half of women were formally referred to a clinician skilled in vaginal breech birth when their baby was diagnosed breech (41.8%), while the remainder sourced a clinician themselves. Half of the women felt supported by their care provider (56.7%) and less than half (42.3%) felt supported by family and friends. Conclusion: The women who responded to this international survey sought the option of a vaginal breech birth, were subsequently happy with this decision, and would attempt a vaginal breech birth in their next pregnancy. Access to vaginal breech birth is important for some women; however, this choice may be challenging to achieve. Consistent information and support from clinicians is important to assist decision-making
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