The classification of LANDSAT data for the Orlando, Florida, urban fringe area

Procedures used to map residential land cover on the Orlando, Florida, Urban fringe zone are detailed. The NASA Bureau of the Census Applications Systems Verification and Transfer project and the test site are described as well as the LANDSAT data used as the land cover information sources. Both single-date LANDSAT data processing and multitemporal principal components LANDSAT data processing are described. A summary of significant findings is included

B- and A-Type Stars in the Taurus-Auriga Star Forming Region

We describe the results of a search for early-type stars associated with the Taurus-Auriga molecular cloud complex, a diffuse nearby star-forming region noted as lacking young stars of intermediate and high mass. We investigate several sets of possible O, B and early A spectral class members. The first is a group of stars for which mid-infrared images show bright nebulae, all of which can be associated with stars of spectral type B. The second group consists of early-type stars compiled from (i) literature listings in SIMBAD; (ii) B stars with infrared excesses selected from the Spitzer Space Telescope survey of the Taurus cloud; (iii) magnitude- and color-selected point sources from the 2MASS; and (iv) spectroscopically identified early-type stars from the SDSS coverage of the Taurus region. We evaluated stars for membership in the Taurus-Auriga star formation region based on criteria involving: spectroscopic and parallactic distances, proper motions and radial velocities, and infrared excesses or line emission indicative of stellar youth. For selected objects, we also model the scattered and emitted radiation from reflection nebulosity and compare the results with the observed spectral energy distributions to further test the plausibility of physical association of the B stars with the Taurus cloud. This investigation newly identifies as probable Taurus members three B-type stars: HR 1445 (HD 28929), tau Tau (HD 29763), 72 Tau (HD 28149), and two A-type stars: HD 31305 and HD 26212, thus doubling the number of stars A5 or earlier associated with the Taurus clouds. Several additional early-type sources including HD 29659 and HD 283815 meet some, but not all, of the membership criteria and therefore are plausible, though not secure, members.Comment: 31 pages, 18 figures, 6 tables. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Scalar Field Theory on Non-commutative Snyder Space-Time

We construct a scalar field theory on the Snyder non-commutative space-time. The symmetry underlying the Snyder geometry is deformed at the co-algebraic level only, while its Poincar\'e algebra is undeformed. The Lorentz sector is undeformed at both algebraic and co-algebraic level, but the co-product for momenta (defining the star-product) is non-co-associative. The Snyder-deformed Poincar\'e group is described by a non-co-associative Hopf algebra. The definition of the interacting theory in terms of a non-associative star-product is thus questionable. We avoid the non-associativity by the use of a space-time picture based on the concept of realization of a non-commutative geometry. The two main results we obtain are: (i) the generic (namely for any realization) construction of the co-algebraic sector underlying the Snyder geometry and (ii) the definition of a non-ambiguous self interacting scalar field theory on this space-time. The first order correction terms of the corresponding Lagrangian are explicitly computed. The possibility to derive Noether charges for the Snyder space-time is also discussed.Comment: 10 pages; v2: introduction rewritten, co-algebraic analysis improved, references added; to appear in PR

Decomposition of time-covariant operations on quantum systems with continuous and/or discrete energy spectrum

Every completely positive map G that commutes which the Hamiltonian time evolution is an integral or sum over (densely defined) CP-maps G_\sigma where \sigma is the energy that is transferred to or taken from the environment. If the spectrum is non-degenerated each G_\sigma is a dephasing channel followed by an energy shift. The dephasing is given by the Hadamard product of the density operator with a (formally defined) positive operator. The Kraus operator of the energy shift is a partial isometry which defines a translation on R with respect to a non-translation-invariant measure. As an example, I calculate this decomposition explicitly for the rotation invariant gaussian channel on a single mode. I address the question under what conditions a covariant channel destroys superpositions between mutually orthogonal states on the same orbit. For channels which allow mutually orthogonal output states on the same orbit, a lower bound on the quantum capacity is derived using the Fourier transform of the CP-map-valued measure (G_\sigma).Comment: latex, 33 pages, domains of unbounded operators are now explicitly specified. Presentation more detailed. Implementing the shift after the dephasing is sometimes more convenien

The effectiveness of paid services in supporting carers' employment in England

This paper explores the effectiveness of paid services in supporting unpaid carers’ employment in England. There is currently a new emphasis in England on ‘replacement care’, or paid services for the cared-for person, as a means of supporting working carers. The international evidence on the effectiveness of paid services as a means of supporting carers’ employment is inconclusive and does not relate specifically to England. The study reported here explores this issue using the 2009/10 Personal Social Services Survey of Adult Carers in England. The study finds a positive association between carers’ employment and receipt of paid services by the cared-for person, controlling for covariates. It therefore gives support to the hypothesis that services for the cared-for person are effective in supporting carers’ employment. Use of home care and a personal assistant are associated on their own with the employment of both men and women carers, while use of day care and meals-on-wheels are associated specifically with women’s employment. Use of short-term breaks are associated with carers’ employment when combined with other services. The paper supports the emphasis in English social policy on paid services as a means of supporting working carers, but questions the use of the term ‘replacement care’ and the emphasis on ‘the market’

Streamlining pathways for minor injuries in emergency departments through radiographer-led discharge

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.Diagnostic imaging services are essential to the diagnosis pathway for many patients arriving at hospital emergency departments with a suspected fracture. Commonly, these patients need to be seen again by a doctor or emergency nurse practitioner after an X-ray image has been taken in order to finalise the diagnosis and determine the next stage in the patients’ pathway. Here, significant waiting times can accrue for these follow-up consultations after radiographic imaging although the vast majority of patients are discharged. Research evidence from pilot studies suggests that patients with minor appendicular injuries could be safely discharged by a suitably qualified radiographer directly after imaging thereby avoiding queues for repeated consultation. In this study, we model patient pathways through an emergency department (ED) at a hospital in the South West of England using process mapping, interviews with ED staff and discrete event simulation (DES). The DES model allowed us to compare the current practice at the hospital with scenarios using radiographer-led discharge of patients directly after imaging and assess the reduction in patients’ length of stay in ED. We also quantified trade-offs between the provision of radiographer-led discharge and its effects, i.e. reduction in waiting times and ED workload. Finally, we discuss how this decision support tool can be used to support understanding for patients and members of staff.Part of this research, i.e. the work of Martin Pitt and Sebastian Rachuba, was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care South West Peninsula (NIHR CLAHRC South West Peninsula)

The Winning National Moot Court Brief

The Nebraska Law Review is proud to reproduce here the winning brief of the Seventh Annual National Moot Court Competition submitted by a three-member team representing the University of Nebraska College of Law. To retain that value which may be gained from the brief as a style guide for other collegiate teams in moot court competitions and for the practicing lawyer, the brief is published as it appeared in the final round of competition, rather than in the newly adopted format and typographical style of the Nebraska Law Review. More important, the substance of the brief deals with a perplexing problem of the criminal law-the defense of insanity. The brief is of course a document advocating one side of the issue. The following brief summary of the legal issue raised is included to place the brief in its proper context

The Winning National Moot Court Brief

The Nebraska Law Review is proud to reproduce here the winning brief of the Seventh Annual National Moot Court Competition submitted by a three-member team representing the University of Nebraska College of Law. To retain that value which may be gained from the brief as a style guide for other collegiate teams in moot court competitions and for the practicing lawyer, the brief is published as it appeared in the final round of competition, rather than in the newly adopted format and typographical style of the Nebraska Law Review. More important, the substance of the brief deals with a perplexing problem of the criminal law-the defense of insanity. The brief is of course a document advocating one side of the issue. The following brief summary of the legal issue raised is included to place the brief in its proper context

Evaluation of the Sustainability of an Intervention to Increase HIV Testing

BACKGROUND Sustainability—the routinization and institutionalization of processes that improve the quality of healthcare—is difficult to achieve and not often studied. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the sustainability of increased rates of HIV testing after implementation of a multi-component intervention in two Veterans Health Administration healthcare systems. DESIGN Quasi-experimental implementation study in which the effect of transferring responsibility to conduct the provider education component of the intervention from research to operational staff was assessed. PATIENTS Persons receiving healthcare between 2005 and 2006 (intervention year) and 2006 and 2007 (sustainability year). MEASUREMENTS Monthly HIV testing rate, stratified by frequency of clinic visits RESULTS The monthly adjusted testing rate increased from 2% at baseline to 6% at the end intervention year and then declined reaching 4% at the end of the sustainability year. However, the stratified, visit-specific testing rate for persons newly exposed to the intervention (i.e., having their first through third visits during the study period) increased throughout the intervention and sustainability years. Increases in the proportion of visits by patients who remained untested despite multiple, prior exposures to the intervention accounted for the aggregate attenuation of testing during the sustainability year. Overall, the percentage of patients who received an HIV test in the sustainability year was 11.6%, in the intervention year 11.1%, and in the pre-intervention year 5.0% CONCLUSIONS Provider education combined with informatics and organizational support had a sustainable effect on HIV testing rates. The effect was most pronounced during patients' early contacts with the healthcare system.Health Services Research & Development Service (SDP 06–001