Effects of interdot hopping and Coulomb blockade on the thermoelectric properties of serially coupled quantum dots

We have theoretically studied the thermoelectric properties of serially coupled quantum dots (SCQD) embedded in an insulator matrix connected to metallic electrodes. In the framework of Keldysh Green's function technique, the Landauer formula of transmission factor is obtained by using the equation of motion method. Based on such analytical expressions of charge and heat currents, we calculate the electrical conductance, Seebeck coefficient, electron thermal conductance and figure of merit (ZT) of SCQD in the linear response regime. The effects of electron Coulomb interactions on the reduction and enhancement of ZT are analyzed. We demonstrate that ZT is not a monotonic increasing function of interdot electron hopping strength ($t_c$). We also show that in the absence of phonon thermal conductance, SCQD can reach the Carnot efficiency as $t_c$ approaches zero.Comment: corrected some argumenet

Health literacy, health status, and healthcare utilization of Taiwanese adults: results from a national survey

Abstract Background Low health literacy is considered a worldwide health threat. The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence and socio-demographic covariates of low health literacy in Taiwanese adults and to investigate the relationships between health literacy and health status and health care utilization. Methods A national survey of 1493 adults was conducted in 2008. Health literacy was measured using the Mandarin Health Literacy Scale. Health status was measured based on self-rated physical and mental health. Health care utilization was measured based on self-reported outpatient clinic visits, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations. Results Approximately thirty percent of adults were found to have low (inadequate or marginal) health literacy. They tended to be older, have fewer years of schooling, lower household income, and reside in less populated areas. Inadequate health literacy was associated with poorer mental health (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.35-0.91). No association was found between health literacy and health care utilization even after adjusting for other covariates. Conclusions Low (inadequate and marginal) health literacy is prevalent in Taiwan. High prevalence of low health literacy is not necessarily indicative of the need for interventions. Systematic efforts to evaluate the impact of low health literacy on health outcomes in other countries would help to illuminate features of health care delivery and financing systems that may mitigate the adverse health effects of low health literacy.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78252/1/1471-2458-10-614.xmlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78252/2/1471-2458-10-614.pdfPeer Reviewe

Access and utilisation of primary health care services comparing urban and rural areas of Riyadh Providence, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has seen an increase in chronic diseases. International evidence suggests that early intervention is the best approach to reduce the burden of chronic disease. However, the limited research available suggests that health care access remains unequal, with rural populations having the poorest access to and utilisation of primary health care centres and, consequently, the poorest health outcomes. This study aimed to examine the factors influencing the access to and utilisation of primary health care centres in urban and rural areas of Riyadh province of the KSA

High loading of nanostructured ceramics in polymer composite thick films by aerosol deposition

Low temperature fabrication of Al2O3-polyimide composite substrates was carried out by an aerosol deposition process using a mixture of Al2O3 and polyimide starting powders. The microstructures and dielectric properties of the composite thick films in relation to their Al2O3 contents were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis. As a result, the crystallite size of α-Al2O3 calculated from Scherrer's formula was increased from 26 to 52 nm as the polyimide ratio in the starting powders increased from 4 to 12 vol.% due to the crushing of the Al2O3 powder being reduced by the shock-absorbing effect of the polyimide powder. The Al2O3-polyimide composite thick films showed a high loss tangent with a large frequency dependence when a mixed powder of 12 vol.% polyimide was used due to the nonuniform microstructure with a rough surface. The Al2O3-polyimide composite thick films showed uniform composite structures with a low loss tangent of less than 0.01 at 1 MHz and a high Al2O3 content of more than 75 vol.% when a mixed powder of 8 vol.% polyimide was used. Moreover, the Al2O3-polyimide composite thick films had extremely high Al2O3 contents of 95 vol.% and showed a dense microstructure close to that of the Al2O3 thick films when a mixed powder of 4 vol.% polyimide was used

Maharam-type kernel representation for operators with a trigonometric domination

[EN] Consider a linear and continuous operator T between Banach function spaces. We prove that under certain requirements an integral inequality for T is equivalent to a factorization of T through a specific kernel operator: in other words, the operator T has what we call a Maharam-type kernel representation. In the case that the inequality provides a domination involving trigonometric functions, a special factorization through the Fourier operator is given. We apply this result to study the problem that motivates the paper: the approximation of functions in L2[0, 1] by means of trigonometric series whose Fourier coefficients are given by weighted trigonometric integrals.This research has been supported by MTM2016-77054-C2-1-P (Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad, Spain).Sánchez Pérez, EA. (2017). Maharam-type kernel representation for operators with a trigonometric domination. Aequationes Mathematicae. 91(6):1073-1091. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00010-017-0507-6S10731091916Calabuig, J.M., Delgado, O., Sánchez Pérez, E.A.: Generalized perfect spaces. Indag. Math. 19(3), 359–378 (2008)Calabuig, J.M., Delgado, O., Sánchez Pérez, E.A.: Factorizing operators on Banach function spaces through spaces of multiplication operators. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 364, 88–103 (2010)Delgado, O., Sánchez Pérez, E.A.: Strong factorizations between couples of operators on Banach function spaces. J. Convex Anal. 20(3), 599–616 (2013)Dodds, P.G., Huijsmans, C.B., de Pagter, B.: Characterizations of conditional expectation type operators. Pacific J. Math. 141(1), 55–77 (1990)Flores, J., Hernández, F.L., Tradacete, P.: Domination problems for strictly singular operators and other related classes. Positivity 15(4), 595–616 (2011). 2011Fremlin, D.H.: Tensor products of Banach lattices. Math. Ann. 211, 87–106 (1974)Hu, G.: Weighted norm inequalities for bilinear Fourier multiplier operators. Math. Ineq. Appl. 18(4), 1409–1425 (2015)Halmos, P., Sunder, V.: Bounded Integral Operators on $$L^2$$ L 2 Spaces. Springer, Berlin (1978)Kantorovitch, L., Vulich, B.: Sur la représentation des opérations linéaires. Compositio Math. 5, 119–165 (1938)Kolwicz, P., Leśnik, K., Maligranda, L.: Pointwise multipliers of Calderón- Lozanovskii spaces. Math. Nachr. 286, 876–907 (2013)Kolwicz, P., Leśnik, K., Maligranda, L.: Pointwise products of some Banach function spaces and factorization. J. Funct. Anal. 266(2), 616–659 (2014)Kuo, W.-C., Labuschagne, C.C.A., Watson, B.A.: Conditional expectations on Riesz spaces. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 303, 509–521 (2005)Lindenstrauss, J., Tzafriri, L.: Classical Banach Spaces II. Springer, Berlin (1979)Maharam, D.: The representation of abstract integrals. Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 75, 154–184 (1953)Maharam, D.: On kernel representation of linear operators. Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 79, 229–255 (1955)Maligranda, L., Persson, L.E.: Generalized duality of some Banach function spaces. Indag. Math. 51, 323–338 (1989)Neugebauer, C.J.: Weighted norm inequalities for averaging operators of monotone functions. Publ. Mat. 35, 429–447 (1991)Okada, S., Ricker, W.J., Sánchez Pérez, E.A.: Optimal Domain and Integral Extension of Operators Acting in Function Spaces. Operator Theory: Adv. Appl., vol. 180. Birkhäuser, Basel (2008)Rota, G.C.: On the representation of averaging operators. Rend. Sem. Mat. Univ. Padova. 30, 52–64 (1960)Sánchez Pérez, E.A.: Factorization theorems for multiplication operators on Banach function spaces. Integr. Equ. Oper. Theory 80(1), 117–135 (2014)Schep, A.R.: Factorization of positive multilinear maps. Ill. J. Math. 28(4), 579–591 (1984)Schep, A.R.: Products and factors of Banach function spaces. Positivity 14(2), 301–319 (2010

The Unmet Need for Interpreting Provision in UK Primary Care

Background: With increasing globalisation, the challenges of providing accessible and safe healthcare to all are great. Studies show that there are substantial numbers of people who are not fluent in English to a level where they can make best use of health services. We examined how health professionals manage language barriers in a consultation.Methods and Findings: This was a cross-sectional study in 41 UK general practices. Health professionals completed a proforma for a randomly allocated consultation session. Seventy-seven (63%) practitioners responded, from 41(59%) practices. From 1008 consultations, 555 involved patients who did not have English as a first language; 710 took place in English; 222 were in other languages, the practitioner either communicating with the patient in their own language/using an alternative language. Seven consultations were in a mixture of English/patient's own language. Patients' first languages numbered 37 (apart from English), in contrast to health practitioners, who declared at least a basic level of proficiency in 22 languages other than English. The practitioner's reported proficiency in the language used was at a basic level in 24 consultations, whereas in 21, they reported having no proficiency at all. In 57 consultations, a relative/friend interpreted and in 6, a bilingual member of staff/community worker was used. Only in 6 cases was a professional interpreter booked. The main limitation was that only one random session was selected and assessment of patient/professional fluency in English was subjective.Conclusions: It would appear that professional interpreters are under-used in relation to the need for them, with bilingual staff/family and friends being used commonly. In many cases where the patient spoke little/no English, the practitioner consulted in the patient's language but this approach was also used where reported practitioner proficiency was low. Further research in different setting is needed to substantiate these findings

Development of a longitudinal integrated clerkship at an academic medical center

In 2005, medical educators at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), began developing the Parnassus Integrated Student Clinical Experiences (PISCES) program, a year-long longitudinal integrated clerkship at its academic medical center. The principles guiding this new clerkship were continuity with faculty preceptors, patients, and peers; a developmentally progressive curriculum with an emphasis on interdisciplinary teaching; and exposure to undiagnosed illness in acute and chronic care settings. Innovative elements included quarterly student evaluation sessions with all preceptors together, peer-to-peer evaluation, and oversight advising with an assigned faculty member. PISCES launched with eight medical students for the 2007/2008 academic year and expanded to 15 students for 2008/2009. Compared to UCSF's traditional core clerkships, evaluations from PISCES indicated significantly higher student satisfaction with faculty teaching, formal didactics, direct observation of clinical skills, and feedback. Student performance on discipline-specific examinations and United States Medical Licensing Examination step 2 CK was equivalent to and on standardized patient examinations was slightly superior to that of traditional peers. Participants' career interests ranged from primary care to surgical subspecialties. These results demonstrate that a longitudinal integrated clerkship can be implemented successfully at a tertiary care academic medical center

Autonomic Modulation and Health-Related Quality of Life among Schizophrenic Patients Treated with Non-Intensive Case Management

Schizophrenia is associated with autonomic dysfunction and this may increase cardiovascular mortality. Past studies on autonomic modulation of schizophrenic patients focused on inpatients rather than individuals in a community setting, especially those receiving non-intensive case management (non-ICM). Besides, autonomic modulation and its association with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in this population remain unexplored.A total of 25 schizophrenic patients treated by non-ICM and 40 healthy volunteers were matched by age, gender and body mass index; smokers were excluded. Between the two groups, we compared the individuals' 5 min resting assessments of heart rate variability and their HRQoL, which was measured using EuroQoL-5D (EQ-5D). Patients with schizophrenia were assessed for psychopathology using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale for Schizophrenia (PANSS). We examined the relationship between heart rate variability measurements, HRQoL scores, PANSS scores, and other clinical variables among the schizophrenic patients treated by non-ICM.Compared to the controls, patients with schizophrenia showed a significant impairment of autonomic modulation and a worse HRQoL. Cardiovagal dysfunction among the schizophrenic patients could be predicted independently based on lower educational level and more negative symptoms. Sympathetic predominance was directly associated with anticholinergics use and EQ-5D using a visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS).Patients with schizophrenia treated by non-ICM show a significant impairment of their autonomic function and HRQoL compared to the controls. Since the sympathovagal dysfunction is associated with more negative symptoms or higher VAS score, the treatment of the negative symptoms as well as the monitoring of HRQoL might help to manage cardiovascular risk among these individuals. In addition, EQ-VAS scores must be interpreted more cautiously in such a population

Do Humans Optimally Exploit Redundancy to Control Step Variability in Walking?

It is widely accepted that humans and animals minimize energetic cost while walking. While such principles predict average behavior, they do not explain the variability observed in walking. For robust performance, walking movements must adapt at each step, not just on average. Here, we propose an analytical framework that reconciles issues of optimality, redundancy, and stochasticity. For human treadmill walking, we defined a goal function to formulate a precise mathematical definition of one possible control strategy: maintain constant speed at each stride. We recorded stride times and stride lengths from healthy subjects walking at five speeds. The specified goal function yielded a decomposition of stride-to-stride variations into new gait variables explicitly related to achieving the hypothesized strategy. Subjects exhibited greatly decreased variability for goal-relevant gait fluctuations directly related to achieving this strategy, but far greater variability for goal-irrelevant fluctuations. More importantly, humans immediately corrected goal-relevant deviations at each successive stride, while allowing goal-irrelevant deviations to persist across multiple strides. To demonstrate that this was not the only strategy people could have used to successfully accomplish the task, we created three surrogate data sets. Each tested a specific alternative hypothesis that subjects used a different strategy that made no reference to the hypothesized goal function. Humans did not adopt any of these viable alternative strategies. Finally, we developed a sequence of stochastic control models of stride-to-stride variability for walking, based on the Minimum Intervention Principle. We demonstrate that healthy humans are not precisely “optimal,” but instead consistently slightly over-correct small deviations in walking speed at each stride. Our results reveal a new governing principle for regulating stride-to-stride fluctuations in human walking that acts independently of, but in parallel with, minimizing energetic cost. Thus, humans exploit task redundancies to achieve robust control while minimizing effort and allowing potentially beneficial motor variability