22,358 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Multimedia broadcast and internet satellite system design and user trial results
The EU funded project, System for Advanced Multimedia Broadcast
and IT Services (SAMBITS), has created an enhanced and synchronised,
multimedia terminal for merging satellite broadcast and internet
telecommunication services in a way that efficiently combines the large
bandwidth of the broadcast channel and the interactivity of the internet.
This paper proposes a novel broadcast and internet service concept, illustrates
this concept with two service scenarios and develops a system architecture to
demonstrate the range of key benefits provided by these new technologies.
It then describes the interactive multimedia terminal that was used for
consuming this new service concept. Finally, the results of the user trials on the
terminal are presented and discussed
Recommended from our members
Assessment of sexual difficulties associated with multi-modal treatment for cervical or endometrial cancer: A systematic review of measurement instruments
Background: Practitioners and researchers require an outcome measure that accurately identifies the range of common treatment-induced changes in sexual function and well-being experienced by women after cervical or endometrial cancer. This systematic review critically appraised the measurement properties and clinical utility of instruments validated for the measurement of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) in this clinical population.
Methods: A bibliographic database search for questionnaire development or validation papers was completed and methodological quality and measurement properties of selected studies rated using the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instrument (COSMIN) checklist.
Results: 738 articles were screened, 13 articles retrieved for full text assessment and 7 studies excluded, resulting in evaluation of 6 papers; 2 QoL and 4 female sexual morbidity measures.
Five of the six instruments omitted one or more dimension of female sexual function and only one instrument explicitly measured distress associated with sexual changes as per DSM V (APA 2013) diagnostic criteria.
None of the papers reported measurement error, responsiveness data was available for only two instruments, three papers failed to report on criterion validity, and test-retest reliability reporting was inconsistent. Heterosexual penile-vaginal intercourse remains the dominant sexual activity focus for sexual morbidity PROMS terminology and instruments lack explicit reference to solo or non-coital sexual expression or validation in a non-heterosexual sample. Four out of six instruments included mediating treatment or illness items such as vaginal changes, menopause or altered body image.
Conclusions: Findings suggest that the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) remains the most robust sexual morbidity outcome measure, for research or clinical use, in sexually active women treated for cervical or endometrial cancer
Emergence of long-range order in BaTiO3 from local symmetry-breaking distortions
By using a symmetry motivated basis to evaluate local distortions against
pair distribution function data (PDF), we show without prior bias, that the
off-centre Ti displacements in the archetypal ferroelectric BaTiO3 are zone
centred and rhombohedral-like in nature across its known ferroelectric and
paraelectric phases. With our newly-gained insight we construct a simple Monte
Carlo (MC) model which captures our main experimental findings and demonstrate
how the rich crystallographic phase diagram of BaTiO3 emerges from correlations
of local symmetry-breaking distortions alone. Our results strongly support the
order-disorder picture for these phase transitions, but can also be reconciled
with the soft-mode theory of BaTiO3 that is supported by some spectroscopic
techniques.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Mentoring to reduce antisocial behaviour in childhood
The effects of social interventions need to be examined in real life situations as well as studie
Earth-like sand fluxes on Mars
Strong and sustained winds on Mars have been considered rare, on the basis of surface meteorology measurements and global circulation models, raising the question of whether the abundant dunes and evidence for wind erosion seen on the planet are a current process. Recent studies showed sand activity, but could not determine whether entire dunes were moving—implying large sand fluxes—or whether more localized and surficial changes had occurred. Here we present measurements of the migration rate of sand ripples and dune lee fronts at the Nili Patera dune field. We show that the dunes are near steady state, with their entire volumes composed of mobile sand. The dunes have unexpectedly high sand fluxes, similar, for example, to those in Victoria Valley, Antarctica, implying that rates of landscape modification on Mars and Earth are similar
Consistent Gravitationally-Coupled Spin-2 Field Theory
Inspired by the translational gauge structure of teleparallel gravity, the
theory for a fundamental massless spin-2 field is constructed. Accordingly,
instead of being represented by a symmetric second-rank tensor, the fundamental
spin-2 field is assumed to be represented by a spacetime (world) vector field
assuming values in the Lie algebra of the translation group. The flat-space
theory naturally emerges in the Fierz formalism and is found to be equivalent
to the usual metric-based theory. However, the gravitationally coupled theory,
with gravitation itself described by teleparallel gravity, is shown not to
present the consistency problems of the spin-2 theory constructed on the basis
of general relativity.Comment: 16 pages, no figures. V2: Presentation changes, including addition of
a new sub-section, aiming at clarifying the text; version accepted for
publication in Class. Quantum Grav
A Submillimeter HCN Laser in IRC+10216
We report the detection of a strong submillimeter wavelength HCN laser line
at a frequency near 805 GHz toward the carbon star IRC+10216. This line, the
J=9-8 rotational transition within the (04(0)0) vibrationally excited state, is
one of a series of HCN laser lines that were first detected in the laboratory
in the early days of laser spectroscopy. Since its lower energy level is 4200 K
above the ground state, the laser emission must arise from the inner part of
IRC+10216's circumstellar envelope. To better characterize this environment, we
observed other, thermally emitting, vibrationally excited HCN lines and find
that they, like the laser line, arise in a region of temperature approximately
1000 K that is located within the dust formation radius; this conclusion is
supported by the linewidth of the laser. The (04(0)0), J=9-8 laser might be
chemically pumped and may be the only known laser (or maser) that is excited
both in the laboratory and in space by a similar mechanism.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
- …