A new optical recording medium

Method has been developed for doping lithium niobiate crystals with transition metal to increase rate at which crystal can record optical data. Discovery may facilitate development of system for analog storage of TV frames, printed pages, photographs, and other visual information

Valutazione del Sistema Parasimpatico nel dolore cronico in comorbidità con disturbo di panico.

La presente tesi di laurea può essere classificata come una indagine osservazionale di tipo caso- controllo. L’obiettivo principale è stato quello di valutare il Sistema Nervoso Autonomo (SNA) in persone che soffrono di dolore cronico. Obiettivo secondario è stato verificare se il SNA dei soggetti con dolore cronico fosse sottoposto a modifiche in presenza di comorbidità con il disturbo di panico (DP) e se tali modifiche fossero associate alla presenza di effetti collaterali da farmaci. Il campione, costituito 100 soggetti, è stato sottoposto ad una valutazione psicofisica (Manovra di Valsalva, Cold Pressure Pain Test), psicologica/psicopatologica (SSAS, IDAS, GHQ-12, SCI-PAS) e del dolore (QUID, VAS). I risultati ottenuti hanno mostrato che il 47% del campione soffriva di dolore cronico, mentre il 58% soffriva di disturbo di panico. Inoltre, il 25% presentava effetti collaterali associati a farmaci. L’età è sembrata essere la variabile più influente nella variazione del SNA in pazienti con dolore cronico ed in soggetti con effetti collaterali da farmaci. I soggetti con dolore cronico hanno presentato una tendenza alla bradicardia e frequenze più basse in risposta alla manovra di Valsalva rispetto ai soggetti senza dolore, mentre nei soggetti con disturbo di panico è stata riscontrata una tendenza alla tachicardia ed un’alterazione nella curva di risposta alla manovra. La comorbidità del disturbo di panico con il dolore cronico, quindi, sembra determinare una profonda alterazione nell’attività del SNA nei soggetti con dolore cronico, con conseguente dissociazione dalla fisiologica risposta agli eventi esterni

Sociomedical interaction in English: towards virtual hospital

In the study of Medical English, encouraging medical undergraduates to reflect on the medical content of texts and genres proposed and sometimes imposed by society, as relevant to health and healthcare is an indispensable component for online student-teacher interactions. In keeping with the principles underlying CDA (critical discourse analysis), linkages and comparisons between texts belonging to different genres are explored in relation to set of thematically-related texts relating to health aspects of water and foodstuffs. The paper presents a three-tier model for the qualitative analysis of individual texts and describes their typical make-up in terms of three broad categories of social contexts: individual, community and international/institutional levels. The model of analysis lends itself to quantitative, as well as qualitative, analysis of the ratio between medical and non-medical information in health texts, leading to the prospect of automatic on-line quantification in a computer template/ platform that can guide teacher-learner interactions and comparisons of texts, thus ensuring that understanding of the forms and functions of today’s complex hybrid healthcare texts is kept on a sure footing. Hence, thanks also to the efforts of the classroom teacher, the future global doctor will be empowered to shape his or her own ethical code in way which is likely to be more objective and balanced

Effects of Substrate Warming on Sessile Marine Invertebrate Communities in Monterey Bay, California

Increasing average global sea temperatures are one of the most direct and alarming consequences of climate change, yet it is still unclear how sessile marine communities will respond in the near- and long-term. In addition, it is unclear if warming ocean temperatures will facilitate marine invasions or primarily benefit native species. To simulate the effects of increasing ocean temperatures on sessile communities, heated settlement plates (n=7) were used in an in situ field experiment to investigate how an increase in substrate temperature (2.5°C above ambient) would affect recruitment and community development as compared to unheated control plates (n=9). Experimental treatments were deployed in the municipal harbor of Monterey, California, which was characterized by an assemblage reflecting a mix of native and invasive species (mainly bryozoans, sponges, tunicates, and tube worms). Following three months of community development in the field, heated plates experienced significantly higher rates of initial recruitment, 33% increase in wet weight, increased percent cover of native and invasive species, and an increase of species with both historically southern and northern range limits. This study reinforces the need for in situ experimentation to understand the effects of temperature on the dynamics shaping marine communities. In situ studies are valuable because they incorporate all ambient factors and are therefore a more reliable predictor for defining the consequences of climate change

An Integrated Framework for AI Assisted Level Design in 2D Platformers

The design of video game levels is a complex and critical task. Levels need to elicit fun and challenge while avoiding frustration at all costs. In this paper, we present a framework to assist designers in the creation of levels for 2D platformers. Our framework provides designers with a toolbox (i) to create 2D platformer levels, (ii) to estimate the difficulty and probability of success of single jump actions (the main mechanics of platformer games), and (iii) a set of metrics to evaluate the difficulty and probability of completion of entire levels. At the end, we present the results of a set of experiments we carried out with human players to validate the metrics included in our framework.Comment: Submitted to the IEEE Game Entertainment and Media Conference 201

Sense and Reference in the Translation of Legal Documents

Legal language, as a language for special purposes, contains terms or concepts that are peculiar to that language because of the history and cultural development of the legal system to which that language pertains. This means that there are terms that can only be understood (or have meaning) in the context of that legal culture and language. Furthermore, a legal term or concept in one language may not have a corresponding term (or referent) in another language. Thus, legal concepts or terms have a particular meaning to readers of a particular legal culture, as well as having a referential function, in that they denote a certain legal concept or notion that has developed in that culture, which emphasizes the specialized nature of the relevant legal language. For this reason, scholars have defined legal terms as “cultural items”. Legal translators are faced with the asymmetry of legal systems and the resulting incongruity of legal concepts and terms. This problem arises as legal terms are embedded in the legal culture in which they have developed.Many scholars now assert that a detailed knowledge of both source and target legal terminology and cultures is essential when translating legal texts. As a key to obtaining the required knowledge that such an approach demands, this paper will explore the possibility that legal concepts and terms, are able to be viewed or treated as if they were proper names, as they have a specific meaning and a referential function to a specific concept, in a given legal language or culture. This possibility emerges from a re-evaluation of the definition of proper names that has been undertaken in recent times. From this re-evaluation a theory has emerged that posits that words or expressions previously not considered as proper names, can now potentially be viewed as such. With particular regard to the concepts of sense and reference, I will apply this hypothesis in analysing the translation of legal documents from English to Italian and vice versa

Delay Discounting and Food Reinforcement in Youth of Color: A Cluster Analysis

Pediatric obesity within the United States continues to be national health concern. Children of color are systemically impacted by obesity. Behavioral Economics (BE) provides a theoretical framework for understanding what social, psychological, and cultural factors impact decision making and food consumption. BE posits that poor executive control (i.e., impulsivity) and relative reinforcing value of food (RRVfood) are two main behavioral components that predict consumption habits. These constructs are poorly understood among children from non-white backgrounds. The current study aimed to 1) identify patterns of impulsivity and food reinforcement within a diverse sample of 88 elementary school children and 2) determine whether these patterns vary by BMI z-score, calorie intake, and meal diet quality. Hierarchical cluster analyses revealed a 4-cluster solution with students’ RRVfood and DD varying across clusters (Cluster 1: Low DD/Low RRVfood; Cluster 2: High DD/Low RRVfood; Cluster 3: Low DD/High RRVfood; Cluster 4: High DD/High RRVfood (highest risk profile). Surprisingly, BMI z-score, caloric intake, and meal diet quality did not vary significantly by cluster. Findings provide support for exploring the reinforcing pathology model among youth of color and may suggest future interventions focus on impulsivity and food reinforcement, particularly among children who score highly on both measures

Internet Radio: An Analysis of Pandora and Spotify

Unlike traditional stations, internet radio stations try to complete the task of effectively identifying the individual in their audience and then cater to their musical taste. The effectiveness of these stations can be analyzed through popular music customization mediums, such as Pandora and Spotify. This paper seeks to analyze Pandora and Spotify and research why they are such popular mediums for their users and how effective each site is in satisfying a need for personalized radio. Specifically, what medium used for internet radio best caters to the needs of users in terms of website features (extent of personalization and social media integration), availability of services (access and costs), and music appreciation features (quality, content and variety)? This paper highlights what qualities users value most of Pandora and Spotify. Two experiments are performed, one is objective (self-conductive) and the other is subjective (with a group of college age listeners) which answers the question: when both mediums are given the same parameters how do their performances differ? There is a survey associated with the subjective experiment where users provide demographic information and rank certain features based on their performance. Although neither station significantly outperformed the other in terms of the subjective experiment, many of the differences between the two services are highlighted throughout the paper

Scattering on spin fluctuations in itinerant quantum disordered ferromagnets near quantum phase transition

Taking into account the long-ranged spin interactions due to weak localization effects in disordered itinerant ferromagnets the scattering of both electrons and neutrons on critical spin fluctuations near quantum phase transition is considered. It is shown that for the case of low electron density, when k_F \xi \ll 1, where k_F is the Fermi momentum and \xi is the magnetic correlation length, the transport cross section of electrons is proportional to conventional critical fluctuations in absence of weak localization effects. However, the intensity of the multiple small-angle neutron scattering becomes exponentially small as compared with the intensity of the multiple scattering by conventional critical fluctuations.Comment: 4 pages, latex, no figures; to appear in Phys. Stat. Sol. (b