Productivity is higher among some service firms when broadband becomes available, but not all. ESRI Research Bulletin 2019/04

Using internet services over broadband connections may help some firms become more productive, generating more output from a given amount of labour and capital equipment. However, there is mixed evidence internationally about how large this benefit has been in practice and which types of firms are most likely to improve their productivity by using these technologies. In this research we examine the effects of broadband availability on the productivity of service sector firms. Some previous studies using region- or country-level data have reported large productivity effects of broadband on services, but it is hard for this type of study to prove that broadband is making firms more productive. For example, their results might partly be explained by factors that both make firms more productive and more likely to use broadband, rather than a causal link from one to the other. Studies using data on firms have tended to find little evidence that there are broad-based gains from this source.2 Our research tries to unpack the service sector to see whether there are identifiable groups of firms that register significant productivity gains after broadband becomes available to them. Knowing more about how large and focused these benefits are should help policymakers predict the likely effects of programmes to bring high-speed broadband to less well-served areas

ERTS-1 Views the Great Lakes Area

ERTS-1 study of mesoscale atmospheric phenomena associated with Great Lake

Effect of flameholder pressure drop on emissions and performance of premixed-prevaporized combustors

Parametric tests were conducted to determine the effects of flameholder pressure drop on the emissions and performance of lean premixed-prevaporized combustors. A conical flameholder mounted in a diverging duct was tested with two values of flameholder blockage. Emissions of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and unburned hydrocarbons were measured for combustor entrance conditions of 600 to 800 K air temperature, 0.3 MPa to 0.5 MPa pressure, and 20 m/sec to 35 m/sec reference velocity. Jet A fuel was injected at flow rates corresponding to an equivalence ratio range from 0.8 down to the lean stability limit. Emission results for the high-blockage flameholder were a substantial improvement over the low-blockage emission results. A correlation of combustion efficiency with flameholder pressure drop was developed for pressure drops less than 9 percent

Measured limits to contamination of optical surfaces by elastomers in vacuum

We have monitored the reflectivity of mirrors that were exposed to a fluoroelastomer (3M-Fluorel 2176) and a room-temperature vulcanizing silicone rubber (RTV-615) in vacuum. The 95% confidence limit on the decrease of mirror reflectivities was less than 0.35 ppm/week for Fluorel and <0.29 ppm@week for RTV-615

Long-term orbital lifetime predictions

Long-term orbital lifetime predictions are analyzed. Predictions were made for three satellites: the Solar Max Mission (SMM), the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), and the Pegasus Boiler Plate (BP). A technique is discussed for determining an appropriate ballistic coefficient to use in the lifetime prediction. The orbital decay rate should be monitored regularly. Ballistic coefficient updates should be done whenever there is a significant change in the actual decay rate or in the solar activity prediction

Pathogenesis of feline enteric coronavirus infection.

Fifty-one specific pathogen-free (SPF) cats 10 weeks to 13 years of age were infected with a cat-to-cat fecal-oral passed strain of feline enteric coronavirus (FECV). Clinical signs ranged from unapparent to a mild and self-limiting diarrhea. Twenty-nine of these cats were FECV naïve before infection and followed sequentially for fecal virus shedding and antibody responses over a period of 8-48 months. Fecal shedding, as determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from rectal swabs, appeared within a week and was significantly higher in kittens than older cats. FECV shedding remained at high levels for 2-10 months before eventually evolving into one of three excretion patterns. Eleven cats shed the virus persistently at varying levels over an observation period of 9-24 months. Eleven cats appeared to have periods of virus shedding interlaced with periods of non-shedding (intermittent or recurrent shedders), and seven cats ceased shedding after 5-19 months (average 12 months). There was no change in the patterns of virus shedding among cats that were excreting FECV at the time of a secondary challenge exposure. Four cats, which had ceased shedding, re-manifested a primary type infection when secondarily infected. Cats with higher feline coronavirus (FCoV) antibody titers were significantly more likely to shed virus, while cats with lower titers were significantly less likely to be shedding. Twenty-two kittens born to experimentally infected project queens began shedding virus spontaneously, but never before 9-10 weeks of age. Natural kittenhood infections appeared to be low grade and abortive. However, a characteristic primary type infection occurred following experimental infection with FECV at 12-15 weeks of age. Pregnancy, parturition and lactation had no influence on fecal shedding by queens. Methylprednisolone acetate treatment did not induce non-shedders to shed and shedders to increase shedding

Life interrupted and life regained? Coping with stroke at a young age

Stroke is a leading cause of disability across the developed world, affecting an increasing number of younger people. In this article, we seek to understand the experience of stroke as a disabling life situation among young people and the strategies that they use to recover and cope. Directed content analysis was conducted from interviews with 17 community-dwelling stroke survivors aged 55 years and younger across the United Kingdom. The sample was drawn from a larger maximum variation sample of stroke survivors. Using the sociological concepts of biographical disruption and biographical repair as a guide, excerpts from the interviews pertaining to aspects of the patients’ life that were interrupted, in addition to how they coped with the changes, were selected and analysed. All individuals described an ‘‘altered sense of self,’’ a theme that included loss of identity, family disruption, and/or loss of valued activities. Individuals sought to adapt their sense of self by seeking external support, by restoring normality, and/or through positive reflection. Despite the adapted self that emerged, most individuals continued to experience impairments. While young stroke survivors adapt to their illness over time, they continue to experience impairments and disruptions in their personal and work lives.Aholistic model of rehabilitation that helps individuals regain the capacity for everyday activities related to work, family life, and leisure can begin to address the emotional ramifications of diseases such as stroke, restore wellness, and work towards minimizing the burden felt by family caregivers and children

Classification of nonproduct states with maximum stabilizer dimension

Nonproduct n-qubit pure states with maximum dimensional stabilizer subgroups of the group of local unitary transformations are precisely the generalized n-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states and their local unitary equivalents, for n greater than or equal to 3 but not equal to 4. We characterize the Lie algebra of the stabilizer subgroup for these states. For n=4, there is an additional maximal stabilizer subalgebra, not local unitary equivalent to the former. We give a canonical form for states with this stabilizer as well.Comment: 6 pages, version 3 has a typographical correction in the displayed equation just after numbered equation (2), and other minor correction