On the theory of Gamma Ray Amplification through Stimulated Annihilation Radiation (GRASAR)

The theory of photon emission, absorption, and scattering in a relativistic plasma of positrons, electrons, and photon was studied. Expressions for the emissivities and absorption coefficients of pair annihilation, pair production, and Compton scattering are given and evaluated numerically. The conditions for negative absorption were investigated. In a system of photons and e(+) - e(-) pairs, an emission line at at approximately 0.43 MeV can be produced by grasar action provided that the pair chemical potential exceeds approximately 1 MeV. At a temperature of approximately 10 to the 9th power. This requires a pair density approximately 10 to the 30th power cm to the (-3) power a value much larger than the thermodynamic equilbrium pair density at this temperature. This emission line could account without a gravitational redshift for the observed lines at this energy from gamma ray bursts

Development of bookkeeping problems to supplement the textbook in second-year bookkeeping classes.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

Pitch and voice quality: acoustic evidence for tone in lower Koyukon

Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2019This thesis addresses the acoustic realization of tone in the Lower dialect of the Koyukon language. The Lower dialect is the only one of the three Koyukon dialects attested to have tone. Its exact nature, however, remains unclear. This study seeks to corroborate previous attestations of low tone in Lower Koyukon by providing acoustic evidence of its realization. Therefore, there are three primary objectives: a) to determine how tone is produced in Lower Koyukon with respect to pitch; b) to examine any interactions between tone and potential pitch-altering phenomena; and c) to determine the realization of creaky phonation during tone production, if such exists. All of the data for this study was gathered from a single consultant, a fluent Lower Koyukon speaker. Three elicitation strategies were employed. First, a game of bingo was developed from a list of words predicted to carry a tonal syllable. Second, the consultant was asked to teach the researcher how to pronounce a series of short phrases and sentences that contained a word with a tonal syllable. Finally, the researcher selected a story written in Koyukon for the consultant to read aloud. During the analytical process, each word predicted to carry tone was compared to both a control set of non-tonal words and a set of words that may or may not carry tone. The only statistically significant difference was that the set of tokens predicted to carry tone had higher measures of creak than the control set. As creaky voice is inherently linked to tone production, this finding supports previous attestations of tone. However, both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed for this study, and several examples are cited which show both that there is a significant pitch change on syllables predicted to carry tone. Moreover, it appears that that this pitch rises. The implications of this study are therefore that tone is present in modern Lower Koyukon, and that this tone may by high, rather than low, as has been previously claimed

Supervision of Maori doctoral students: A descriptive report

This report follows up a previous paper that outlined the goals and plans of a research project that focused on both theoretical and cultural questions regarding the supervisory process for Māori doctoral students (McKinley, Grant, Middleton, Irwin, & Williams, 2007). The major goal of the project is to enhance understanding of the teaching and learning process of supervision for students and supervisors, particularly around issues of culture that arise in research methodologies and practices. This paper reports on the completed project by providing further operational background, design features, the nature of the student and supervisor samples and a summary of interview findings. The results show that there are indeed distinctive issues arising within the supervision of Māori doctoral students. Some of these are to do with both pleasures and challenges found in the supervision relationship, while others relate to the kinds of projects the students undertake. Many projects for example, push at the disciplinary boundaries of Western knowledge and are often rooted in a political desire to enhance the everyday lives of Māori. Yet others are connected to identity formation processes that concern many Māori during their years as doctoral students. A central message for supervisors from this work is that the supervision of Māori doctoral students may require unfamiliar forms of engagement but that these are likely to be deeply rewarding in many different ways

Factors affecting sleep in the critically ill: An observational study

Purpose: The aims of the current study were to describe the extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting sleep in critically ill patients and to examine potential relationships with sleep quality. Materials and Methods: Sleep was recorded using polysomnography (PSG) and self-reports collected in adult patients in intensive care. Sound and illuminance levels were recorded during sleep recording. Objective sleep quality was quantified using total sleep time divided by the number of sleep periods (PSG sleep period time ratio). A regression model was specified using the "PSG sleep period time ratio" as a dependent variable. Results: Sleep was highly fragmented. Patients rated noise and light as the most sleep disruptive. Continuous equivalent sound levels were 56 dB (A). Median daytime illuminance level was 74 lux, and nighttime levels were 1 lux. The regression model explained 25% of the variance in sleep quality (P = .027); the presence of an artificial airway was the only statistically significant predictor in the model (P = .007). Conclusions: The presence of an artificial airway during sleep monitoring was the only significant predictor in the regression model and may suggest that although potentially uncomfortable, an artificial airway may actually promote sleep. This requires further investigation. © 2014 Elsevier Inc

The Green Shoots of Recovery: a realist evaluation of a team to support change in general practice

Objective A multidisciplinary support team for general practice was established in April 2014 by a local National Health Service (NHS) England management team. This work evaluates the team's effectiveness in supporting and promoting change in its first 2 years, using realist methodology. Setting Primary care in one area of England. Participants Semistructured interviews were conducted with staff from 14 practices, 3 key senior NHS England personnel and 5 members of the support team. Sampling of practice staff was purposive to include representatives from relevant professional groups. Intervention The team worked with practices to identify areas for change, construct action plans and implement them. While there was no specified timescale for the team's work with practices, it was tailored to each. Primary and secondary outcome measures In realist evaluations, outcomes are contingent on mechanisms acting in contexts, and both an understanding of how an intervention leads to change in a socially constructed system and the resultant changes are outcomes. Results The principal positive mechanisms leading to change were the support team's expertise and its relationships with practice staff. The ‘external view’ provided by the team via its corroborative and normalising effects was an important mechanism for increasing morale in some practice contexts. A powerful negative mechanism was related to perceptions of ‘being seen as a failing practice’ which included expressions of ‘shame’. Outcomes for practices as perceived by their staff were better communication, improvements in patients' access to appointments resulting from better clinical and managerial skill mix, and improvements in workload management. Conclusions The support team promoted change within practices leading to signs of the ‘green shoots of recovery’ within the time frame of the evaluation. Such interventions need to be tailored and responsive to practices' needs. The team's expertise and relationships between team members and practice staff are central to success

The Family Name as Socio-Cultural Feature and Genetic Metaphor: From Concepts to Methods

A recent workshop entitled The Family Name as Socio-Cultural Feature and Genetic Metaphor: From Concepts to Methods was held in Paris in December 2010, sponsored by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and by the journal Human Biology. This workshop was intended to foster a debate on questions related to the family names and to compare different multidisciplinary approaches involving geneticists, historians, geographers, sociologists and social anthropologists. This collective paper presents a collection of selected communications

Characterisation of sleep in intensive care using 24-hour polysomnography: An observational study

Introduction: Many intensive care patients experience sleep disruption potentially related to noise, light and treatment interventions. The purpose of this study was to characterise, in terms of quantity and quality, the sleep of intensive care patients, taking into account the impact of environmental factors.Methods: This observational study was conducted in the adult ICU of a tertiary referral hospital in Australia, enrolling 57 patients. Polysomnography (PSG) was performed over a 24-hour period to assess the quantity (total sleep time: hh:mm) and quality (percentage per stage, duration of sleep episode) of patients' sleep while in ICU. Rechtschaffen and Kales criteria were used to categorise sleep. Interrater checks were performed. Sound pressure and illuminance levels and care events were simultaneously recorded. Patients reported on their sleep quality in ICU using the Richards Campbell Sleep Questionnaire and the Sleep in Intensive Care Questionnaire. Data were summarised using frequencies and proportions or measures of central tendency and dispersion as appropriate and Cohen's Kappa statistic was used for interrater reliability of the sleep data analysis.Results: Patients' median total sleep time was 05:00 (IQR: 02:52 to 07:14). The majority of sleep was stage 1 and 2 (medians: 19 and 73%) with scant slow wave and REM sleep. The median duration of sleep without waking was 00:03. Sound levels were high (mean Leq 53.95 dB(A) during the day and 50.20 dB(A) at night) and illuminance levels were appropriate at night (median <2 lux) but low during the day (median: 74.20 lux). There was a median 1.7 care events/h. Patients' mean self-reported sleep quality was poor. Interrater reliability of sleep staging was highest for slow wave sleep and lowest for stage 1 sleep.Conclusions: The quantity and quality of sleep in intensive care patients are poor and may be related to noise, critical illness itself and treatment events that disturb sleep. The study highlights the challenge of quantifying sleep in the critical care setting and the need for alternative methods of measuring sleep. The results suggest that a sound reduction program is required and other interventions to improve clinical practices to promote sleep in intensive care patients.Trial registration: Australian New Zealand clinical trial registry (http://www.anzctr.org.au/): ACTRN12610000688088. © 2013 Elliott et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd