2,278 research outputs found
Diving into a decade of games for health research: a systematic review
Recent years have been characterised by a rising interest in using enter tainment computing to monitor, maintain, and improve human health. This is
observed in many systems and applications that leverage the benefits of a playful
and enjoyable experience to provide a technology-enabled health intervention.
This paper reviews one decade of papers (679) published at the intersection of
health, entertainment and technology to determine trends, studies’ characteristics,
type of solutions, domains of application and study purposes. Results show that
there is a growing body of research in the area, with the majority of studies provid ing solutions for rehabilitation and addressing motor conditions related to stroke
and/or fitness. Where half of the solutions reported are custom made, the bulk
of those studies is performed with the purpose of evaluating the solutions pro posed or validating their efficacy. In 80% of the cases, the studies are performed
with subjects from the target population with sample sizes that have been steadily
increasing over the years.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Optical and electronic properties of sub-surface conducting layers in diamond created by MeV B-implantation at elevated temperatures
Boron implantation with in-situ dynamic annealing is used to produce highly
conductive sub-surface layers in type IIa (100) diamond plates for the search
of a superconducting phase transition. Here we demonstrate that high-fluence
MeV ion-implantation, at elevated temperatures avoids graphitization and can be
used to achieve doping densities of 6 at.%. In order to quantify the diamond
crystal damage associated with implantation Raman spectroscopy was performed,
demonstrating high temperature annealing recovers the lattice. Additionally,
low-temperature electronic transport measurements show evidence of charge
carrier densities close to the metal-insulator-transition. After electronic
characterization, secondary ion mass spectrometry was performed to map out the
ion profile of the implanted plates. The analysis shows close agreement with
the simulated ion-profile assuming scaling factors that take into account an
average change in diamond density due to device fabrication. Finally, the data
show that boron diffusion is negligible during the high temperature annealing
process.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures, submitted to JA
wormholes and topological charge
I investigate solutions to the Euclidean Einstein-matter field equations with
topology in a theory with a massless periodic scalar
field and electromagnetism. These solutions carry winding number of the
periodic scalar as well as magnetic flux. They induce violations of a
quasi-topological conservation law which conserves the product of magnetic flux
and winding number on the background spacetime. I extend these solutions to a
model with stable loops of superconducting cosmic string, and interpret them as
contributing to the decay of such loops.Comment: 18 pages (includes 6 figs.), harvmac and epsf, CU-TP-62
Shared care obesity management in 3-10 year old children: 12 month outcomes of HopSCOTCH randomised trial
Objective: To determine whether general practice surveillance for childhood obesity, followed by obesity management across primary and tertiary care settings using a shared care model, improves body mass index and related outcomes in obese children aged 3-10 years. Design: Randomised controlled trial. Setting: 22 family practices (35 participating general practitioners) and a tertiary weight management service (three paediatricians, two dietitians) in Melbourne, Australia. Participants: Children aged 3-10 years with body mass index above the 95th centile recruited through their general practice between July 2009 and April 2010. Intervention: Children were randomly allocated to one tertiary appointment followed by up to 11 general practice consultations over one year, supported by shared care, web based software (intervention) or “usual care” (control). Researchers collecting outcome measurements, but not participants, were blinded to group assignment. Main outcome measures: Children’s body mass index z score (primary outcome), body fat percentage, waist circumference, physical activity, quality of diet, health related quality of life, self esteem, and body dissatisfaction and parents’ body mass index (all 15 months post-enrolment). Results: 118 (60 intervention, 56 control) children were recruited and 107 (91%) were retained and analysed (56 intervention, 51 control). All retained intervention children attended the tertiary appointment and their general practitioner for at least one (mean 3.5 (SD 2.5, range 1-11)) weight management consultation. At outcome, children in the two trial arms had similar body mass index (adjusted mean difference −0.1 (95% confidence interval −0.7 to 0.5; P=0.7)) and body mass index z score (−0.05 (−0.14 to 0.03); P=0.2). Similarly, no evidence was found of benefit or harm on any secondary outcome. Outcomes varied widely in the combined cohort (mean change in body mass index z score −0.20 (SD 0.25, range −0.97-0.47); 26% of children resolved from obese to overweight and 2% to normal weight. Conclusions: Although feasible, not harmful, and highly rated by both families and general practitioners, the shared care model of primary and tertiary care management did not lead to better body mass index or other outcomes for the intervention group compared with the control group. Improvements in body mass index in both groups highlight the value of untreated controls when determining efficacy.Melissa Wake, Kate Lycett, Susan A Clifford, Matthew A Sabin, Jane Gunn, Kay Gibbons, Cathy Hutton, Zoë McCallum, Sarah J Arnup, Gary Witter
Discovery of a binary icosahedral quasicrystal in ScZn
We report the discovery of a new binary icosahedral phase in a Sc-Zn alloy
obtained through solution-growth, producing millimeter-sized, facetted, single
grain, quasicrystals that exhibit different growth morphologies, pentagonal
dodecahedra and rhombic triacontahedra, under only marginally different growth
conditions. These two morphologies manifest different degrees of
quasicrystalline order, or phason strain. The discovery of i-ScZn
suggests that a reexamination of binary phase diagrams at compositions close to
crystalline approximant structures may reveal other, new binary
quasicrystalline phases.Comment: Incorrect spelling in author list resolve
Additive drug-specific and sex-specific risks associated with co-use of marijuana and tobacco during pregnancy: Evidence from 3 recent developmental cohorts (2003-2015).
BACKGROUND: Methodologic challenges related to the concomitant use (co-use) of substances and changes in policy and potency of marijuana contribute to ongoing uncertainty about risks to fetal neurodevelopment associated with prenatal marijuana use. In this study, we examined two biomarkers of fetal neurodevelopmental risk-birth weight and length of gestation-associated with prenatal marijuana use, independent of tobacco (TOB), alcohol (ALC), other drug use (OTH), and socioeconomic risk (SES), in a pooled sample (N = 1191) derived from 3 recent developmental cohorts (2003-2015) with state-of-the-art substance use measures. We examined differential associations by infant sex, and multiplicative effects associated with co-use of MJ and TOB.
METHODS: Participants were mother-infant dyads with complete data on all study variables derived from Growing Up Healthy (n = 251), Behavior and Mood in Babies and Mothers (Cohorts 1 and 2; n = 315), and the Early Growth and Development Study (N = 625). We estimated direct effects on birth weight and length of gestation associated with MJ, TOB, and co-use (MJ x TOB), using linear regression analysis in the full sample, and in male (n = 654) and female (n = 537) infants, separately.
RESULTS: Mean birth weight and length of gestation were 3277 g (SD = 543) and 37.8 weeks (SD = 2.0), respectively. Rates of prenatal use were as follows: any use, n = 748 (62.8%); MJ use, n = 273 (22.9%); TOB use, n = 608 (51.0%); co-use of MJ and TOB, n = 230 (19.3%); ALC use, n = 464 (39.0%); and OTH use n = 115 (9.7%.) For all infants, unique effects on birth weight were observed for any MJ use [B(SE) = -84.367(38.271), 95% C.I. -159.453 to -9.281, p = .028], any TOB use [B(SE) = -0.99.416(34.418), 95% C.I. -166.942 to -31.889, p = .004], and each cigarette/day in mean TOB use [B(SE) = -12.233(3.427), 95% C.I. -18.995 to -5.510, p \u3c .001]. Additional effects of co-use on birth weight, beyond these drug-specific effects, were not supported. In analyses stratified by sex, while TOB use was associated with lower birth weight in both sexes, MJ use during pregnancy was associated with lower birth weight of male infants [B(SE) = -153.1 (54.20); 95% C.I. -259.5 to -46.7, p = .005], but not female infants [B(SE) = 8.3(53.1), 95% C.I. -96.024 to 112.551, p = .876]. TOB, MJ, and their co-use were not associated with length of gestation.
CONCLUSIONS: In this sample, intrauterine co-exposure to MJ and TOB was associated with an estimated 18% reduction in birth weight not attributable to earlier delivery, exposure to ALC or OTH drugs, nor to maternal SES. We found evidence for greater susceptibility of male fetuses to any prenatal MJ exposure. Examination of dose-dependence in relationships found in this study, using continuous measures of exposure, is an important next step. Finally, we underscore the need to consider (a) the potential moderating influence of fetal sex on exposure-related neurodevelopmental risks; and (b) the importance of quantifying expressions of risk through subtle alterations, rather than dichotomous outcomes
Spatial mapping of band bending in semiconductor devices using in-situ quantum sensors
Band bending is a central concept in solid-state physics that arises from
local variations in charge distribution especially near semiconductor
interfaces and surfaces. Its precision measurement is vital in a variety of
contexts from the optimisation of field effect transistors to the engineering
of qubit devices with enhanced stability and coherence. Existing methods are
surface sensitive and are unable to probe band bending at depth from surface or
bulk charges related to crystal defects. Here we propose an in-situ method for
probing band bending in a semiconductor device by imaging an array of
atomic-sized quantum sensing defects to report on the local electric field. We
implement the concept using the nitrogen-vacancy centre in diamond, and map the
electric field at different depths under various surface terminations. We then
fabricate a two-terminal device based on the conductive two-dimensional hole
gas formed at a hydrogen-terminated diamond surface, and observe an unexpected
spatial modulation of the electric field attributed to a complex interplay
between charge injection and photo-ionisation effects. Our method opens the way
to three-dimensional mapping of band bending in diamond and other
semiconductors hosting suitable quantum sensors, combined with simultaneous
imaging of charge transport in complex operating devices.Comment: This is a pre-print of an article published in Nature Electronics.
The final authenticated version is available online at
https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41928-018-0130-
Μελέτη επιπτώσεων συνδρομολόγησηςεφαρμογών σε πολυπύρηνες αρχιτεκτονικές
Understanding viral transmission dynamics within populations of reservoir hosts can facilitate greater knowledge of the spillover of emerging infectious diseases. While bat-borne viruses are of concern to public health, investigations into their dynamics have been limited by a lack of longitudinal data from individual bats. Here, we examine capture-mark-recapture (CMR) data from a species of Australian bat (Myotis macropus) infected with a putative novel Alphacoronavirus within a Bayesian framework. Then, we developed epidemic models to estimate the effect of persistently infectious individuals (which shed viruses for extensive periods) on the probability of viral maintenance within the study population. We found that the CMR data analysis supported grouping of infectious bats into persistently and transiently infectious bats. Maintenance of coronavirus within the study population was more likely in an epidemic model that included both persistently and transiently infectious bats, compared with the epidemic model with non-grouping of bats. These findings, using rare CMR data from longitudinal samples of individual bats, increase our understanding of transmission dynamics of bat viral infectious diseases
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