Nanosecond pulsed discharges in N2 and N2/H2O mixtures

Nanosecond pulsed discharges in N2 and N2/H2O at atmospheric pressure between two pin-shaped electrodes are studied. The evolution of the discharge is investigated with time-resolved imaging and optical emission spectroscopy. The discharge consists of three phases, the ignition (mainly molecular emission), spark (mainly atomic and ionic emission) and recombination phase (mainly atomic emission). The electron density is obtained by broadening of the N 746 nm and Ha line and reaches very high values up to 4 10^24 m^-3. The gas temperature is obtained by OES and Rayleigh scattering

Cross-talk between signaling pathways leading to defense against pathogens and insects

In nature, plants interact with a wide range of organisms, some of which are harmful (e.g. pathogens, herbivorous insects), while others are beneficial (e.g. growth-promoting rhizobacteria, mycorrhizal fungi, and predatory enemies of herbivores). During the evolutionary arms race between plants and their attackers, primary and secondary immune responses evolved to recognize common or highly specialized features of microbial pathogens (Chisholm et al., 2006), resulting in sophisticated mechanisms of defense

Effect of shared decision-making on therapeutic alliance in addiction health care

Contains fulltext : 73096.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Background: In recent decades, shared decision-making (SDM) models have been developed to increase patient involvement in treatment decisions. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a shared decision-making intervention (SDMI) for substance-dependent patients on patients' and clinicians' perceptions of therapeutic alliance. Methods: Clinicians were randomly assigned to SDMI or usual procedures to reach a treatment agreement. SDMI is a structured, manualized, 5-session procedure to facilitate treatment agreement and consists of five standardized sessions. Results: Patients' perceptions of the therapeutic alliance were very favorable at start of treatment, and no differences were found between intervention groups. Clinicians' scores on perceived helpfulness and on the overall therapeutic alliance were higher in the SDMI group than in the controls, after 8 weeks of treatment and at the end of treatment. Conclusion: The present study has shown that a specific intervention to enhance shared decision-making results in favorable changes in clinicians' perceptions of the therapeutic alliance.9 p

Active microwave users working group program planning

A detailed programmatic and technical development plan for active microwave technology was examined in each of four user activities: (1) vegetation; (2) water resources and geologic applications, and (4) oceanographic applications. Major application areas were identified, and the impact of each application area in terms of social and economic gains were evaluated. The present state of knowledge of the applicability of active microwave remote sensing to each application area was summarized and its role relative to other remote sensing devices was examined. The analysis and data acquisition techniques needed to resolve the effects of interference factors were reviewed to establish an operational capability in each application area. Flow charts of accomplished and required activities in each application area that lead to operational capability were structured

The impact of decision timing on the effectiveness of leaders’ apologies to repair followers’ trust in the aftermath of leader failure

Purpose The aim of the present research was to investigate how a negative decision outcome generated by a leader in a hasty, timely, or delayed manner impacts upon the need for, and the effectiveness of apologies to restore followers’ trust. Design/Methodology/Approach Data were collected using five studies in which the effects of timing of an incorrect decision on the trust repair process were investigated. Findings In the aftermath of a leader’s failure, followers experienced a delayed incorrect decision as a more severe transgression than a hasty or a timely incorrect decision. This effect was mediated by procedural fairness concerns (Study 1). The present findings also revealed an interesting paradox. Specifically, in the delayed condition followers expressed the highest need for an apology (Studies 2 and 3), but at the same time expected an apology to be less effective for enhancing trustworthiness than in the timely and the hasty condition (Study 3). Moreover, we also showed that the actual provision of an apology was effective for restoring both trustworthiness (Study 4) and trust (Studies 4 and 5) in the timely and the hasty condition, but ineffective in the delayed condition. Implications The present research shows that when the outcome of a decision is uncertain, it is better to make a decision (too) soon rather than (too) late. Originality/Value Despite the ubiquity of timing errors in daily life, our studies are the first to focus on the role of timeliness of decisions in the trust repair process

PYTHIA hadronization process tuning in the GENIE neutrino interaction generator

9 pages, 7 figures, proceedings of the CETUP*-Workshop on Neutrino Interactions, July 22-31, 2014 at Lead/Dead Wood, South Dakota, USA9 pages, 7 figures, proceedings of the CETUP*-Workshop on Neutrino Interactions, July 22-31, 2014 at Lead/Dead Wood, South Dakota, USAv1: 9 pages, 7 figures, proceedings of the CETUP*-Workshop on Neutrino Interactions, July 22-31, 2014 at Lead/Dead Wood, South Dakota, USA. v2: 15 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, will be published by Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics (IoP