Citation and peer review of data: moving towards formal data publication

This paper discusses many of the issues associated with formally publishing data in academia, focusing primarily on the structures that need to be put in place for peer review and formal citation of datasets. Data publication is becoming increasingly important to the scientific community, as it will provide a mechanism for those who create data to receive academic credit for their work and will allow the conclusions arising from an analysis to be more readily verifiable, thus promoting transparency in the scientific process. Peer review of data will also provide a mechanism for ensuring the quality of datasets, and we provide suggestions on the types of activities one expects to see in the peer review of data. A simple taxonomy of data publication methodologies is presented and evaluated, and the paper concludes with a discussion of dataset granularity, transience and semantics, along with a recommended human-readable citation syntax

Probing the Gravitational Wave Signature from Cosmic Phase Transitions at Different Scales

We present a new signature by which to one could potentially discriminate between a spectrum of gravitational radiation generated by a self-ordering scalar field vs that of inflation, specifically a comparison of the magnitude of a flat spectrum at frequencies probed by future direct detection experiments to the magnitude of a possible polarization signal in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation. In the process we clarify several issues related to the proper calculation of such modes, focusing on the effect of post-horizon-crossing evolution.Comment: 4 pages, Phys. Rev D version (revised in response to referee's comments

The Environment for Application Software Integration and Execution (EASIE), version 1.0. Volume 2: Program integration guide

The Environment for Application Software Integration and Execution, EASIE, provides a methodology and a set of software utility programs to ease the task of coordinating engineering design and analysis codes. EASIE was designed to meet the needs of conceptual design engineers that face the task of integrating many stand-alone engineering analysis programs. Using EASIE, programs are integrated through a relational data base management system. In volume 2, the use of a SYSTEM LIBRARY PROCESSOR is used to construct a DATA DICTIONARY describing all relations defined in the data base, and a TEMPLATE LIBRARY. A TEMPLATE is a description of all subsets of relations (including conditional selection criteria and sorting specifications) to be accessed as input or output for a given application. Together, these form the SYSTEM LIBRARY which is used to automatically produce the data base schema, FORTRAN subroutines to retrieve/store data from/to the data base, and instructions to a generic REVIEWER program providing review/modification of data for a given template. Automation of these functions eliminates much of the tedious, error prone work required by the usual approach to data base integration

Revising the role of the history of mathematics in post-pandemic world

In this short philosophical and discursive paper, the main objective is to reassess a new emergent role of the history of mathematics in order to bring about greater diversity and engagement in the mathematical sciences. The discussion is based around the project undertaken at a North London university and their partner pre-university college, which piloted the larger national project in the UK in the local context. The success of the project, it is further suggested, would greatly benefit from a framework in which the history of mathematics as a humanistic discipline is closely related to viewing mathematics as a virtuous practice. We also include a short summary about the lives and careers of two Serbian mathematicians, Judita Cofman, and Milica Ilić-Dajović, to showcase how learning about the ways in which marginalisation takes place can help students position themselves and contextualise their priorities as they enter the professional mathematics landscape

Advancements in image sensor technology for soft X-ray spectroscopy in space: CIS detectors for the Auroral X-ray Imaging Spectrometer

Soft X-rays with energies below 2 keV are of tremendous scientific utility for planetary science but are particularly challenging to detect and analyse due to their low energies and short attenuation lengths. Solid state image sensor based X-ray detectors, derived from charge coupled devices (CCDs) and CMOS image sensors (CISs), have the potential to capture information about a soft X-ray flux in the time, spatial, and energy domains, and so are a potent scientific tool. Developing X-ray detector technology is enabling the application of soft X-ray imaging spectrometers in ever more demanding environments, with the current state of the art CIS promising the potential for high temperature, Fano-limited, performance. This thesis investigates the use of solid state image sensors for soft- X-ray imaging spectroscopy in space-based applications. Specifically: an evaluation of the radiation damage experienced by the swept charge devices (SCDs) of the Chandrayaan-2 Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS) which was shown to be within expectations and consistent with the requirements for continued science operation; and a study of X-ray detectors for the Auroral X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (AXIS) instrument aboard the Disturbed and quiet-time Ionosphere System at High Altitudes (DISHA) mission, resulting in the adoption of a novel CIS X-ray detector into the instrument design. The AXIS study has found that the newly developed CISs are now equal to their CCD counterparts in some soft X-ray imaging spectroscopy applications, potentially enabling new science targets to be pursued. The successful recommendation to change the AXIS instrument X-ray detector from the more mature EMCCD CCD201-20 of the baseline design, to the less mature but better performing CIS221-X and its derivatives represents a milestone in the development of CIS X-ray detector technology

Do patients and family carers have different concerns about the use of medicines compared with healthcare professionals? A quantitative secondary analysis of healthcare concerns relating to adults with complex needs

OBJECTIVE: To identify concerns related to the use of medicines for adults with complex needs and explore whether these differed between healthcare professionals and patients/carers, in order to inform development of interventions to increase medication adherence. METHODS: A quantitative secondary analysis of a database of healthcare professionals' and patients'/carers' healthcare concerns, related to adults with complex needs. Categories of concerns related to medicines use were identified and concerns related to medication use coded against these. Data were analysed descriptively, and a Chi-square test conducted to test for differences in responses from healthcare professionals versus patients/carers. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the types of medication concern raised by healthcare professionals versus those raised by patients/carers. Patients/carers expressed more concerns about side effects and interactions; healthcare professionals identified more concerns related to patient support and carers' knowledge/training. CONCLUSION: Healthcare professionals had significantly different concerns about medicines to patients; this may be a potential barrier to medication adherence. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Healthcare professionals may need to adopt an approach to non-adherence that goes beyond education and counselling and adopts a wider patient perspective. Findings suggest that a greater focus on addressing side effects and interactions may be beneficial in increasing medication adherence

Quantum Mechanics of the Doubled Torus

We investigate the quantum mechanics of the doubled torus system, introduced by Hull [1] to describe T-folds in a more geometric way. Classically, this system consists of a world-sheet Lagrangian together with some constraints, which reduce the number of degrees of freedom to the correct physical number. We consider this system from the point of view of constrained Hamiltonian dynamics. In this case the constraints are second class, and we can quantize on the constrained surface using Dirac brackets. We perform the quantization for a simple T-fold background and compare to results for the conventional non-doubled torus system. Finally, we formulate a consistent supersymmetric version of the doubled torus system, including supersymmetric constraints.Comment: 31 pages, 1 figure; v2: references added, minor corrections to final sectio

A unified Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev invariant for integral homology spheres

We construct an invariant J_M of integral homology spheres M with values in a completion \hat{Z[q]} of the polynomial ring Z[q] such that the evaluation at each root of unity \zeta gives the the SU(2) Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev invariant \tau_\zeta(M) of M at \zeta. Thus J_M unifies all the SU(2) Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev invariants of M. As a consequence, \tau_\zeta(M) is an algebraic integer. Moreover, it follows that \tau_\zeta(M) as a function on \zeta behaves like an ``analytic function'' defined on the set of roots of unity. That is, the \tau_\zeta(M) for all roots of unity are determined by a "Taylor expansion" at any root of unity, and also by the values at infinitely many roots of unity of prime power orders. In particular, \tau_\zeta(M) for all roots of unity are determined by the Ohtsuki series, which can be regarded as the Taylor expansion at q=1.Comment: 66 pages, 8 figure