A critical analysis of the hydrino model

Recently, spectroscopic and calorimetric observations of hydrogen plasmas and chemical reactions with them have been interpreted as evidence for the existence of electronic states of the hydrogen atom with a binding energy of more than 13.6 eV. The theoretical basis for such states, that have been dubbed hydrinos, is investigated. We discuss both, the novel deterministic model of the hydrogen atom, in which the existence of hydrinos was predicted, and standard quantum mechanics. Severe inconsistencies in the deterministic model are pointed out and the incompatibility of hydrino states with quantum mechanics is reviewed.Comment: 9 page

Modelling of Electroluminescence in Polymers Using a Bipolar Charge Transport Model

Electroluminescence (EL) in polymeric materials is thought to occur due to the energy dissipation process from the recombination of opposite polarity charge carriers. It is considered as an indication of storage and transport of charge carriers in cable insulation subject to electrical stresses and may indicate the change in charge movement due to aging or degradation processes. Under ac electric fields, the interaction of opposite polarity charge carriers at the interface of polymer/conductor is enhanced compared with dc conditions, and seems to contribute a lot to the electroluminescence rather than the charge behaviours in the bulk of polymers. The dynamics of charge carriers both at the interface of polymer/conductor and in the bulk of polymers is investigated through a simulation work using a bipolar charge transport model. Figure 1 compares experimental electroluminescence results with simulated data from the recombination of injected charge carriers. The paper will give more details on EL model and comparison under various waveforms and frequencies

Ferromagnetic relaxation by magnon-induced currents

A theory for calculating spin wave relaxation times based on the magnon-electron interaction is developed. The theory incorporates a thin film geometry and is valid for a large range of magnon frequencies and wave vectors. For high conductivity metals such as permalloy, the wave vector dependent damping constant approaches values as high as 0.2, showing the large magnitude of the effect, and can dominate experimentally observed relaxation.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

How has the Louisiana Scholarship Program Affected Students? A Comprehensive Summary of Effects after Four Years

School choice has long been a subject of robust debate. Private school vouchers—programs providing public funds for students to attend K-12 private schools—tend to be the most contentious form of school choice. Over the past three years, our research team has released a series of reports examining how the LSP has affected key student and community conditions

Bump start needed: linking guidelines, policy and practice in promoting physical activity during and beyond pregnancy

First paragraph: There is compelling evidence that regular physical activity (PA) during pregnancy benefits both mother and baby.1 2 Notably, physical and psychological benefits are evident in the literature, such as marked reductions in the development of gestational diabetes and hypertensive disorders, alongside improvements in depressive symptoms and cardiorespiratory fitness.1 2 The evidence base has been reflected by recent policy initiatives, for example, in 2017 (relaunched in 2019), the UK‘s chief medical officers (CMOs) published PA guidelines for pregnant women, which made substantial strides in unifying and translating the evidence into recommendations.1 The CMO guidelines are aimed at supporting health professionals to provide consistent, evidence-based PA messages to women throughout pregnancy.1 Recently, the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity have updated their professional standards for working with antenatal and postnatal clients to align with these CMO guidelines.3 However, not all women have access to professionals with this level of expertise and training, potentially limiting the impact of the CMO guidelines

Screening and diagnostic assessment of neurodevelopmental disorders in a male prison

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify neurodevelopmental disorders and difficulties (NDD) in a male prison. The study used standardised tools to carry out screening and diagnostic assessment of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID). Design/methodology/approach The ADHD self-report scale, 20-item autism quotient and the Learning Disability Screening Questionnaire were used to screen 240 male prisoners. Prisoners who screened positive on one or more of these scales or self-reported a diagnosis of ADHD, ASD or ID were further assessed using the diagnostic interview for ADHD in adults, adapted Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule and the Quick Test. Findings Of the 87 prisoners who screened positive for NDD and were further assessed, 70 met the study’s diagnostic criteria for ADHD, ASD or ID. Most of those with NDD (51 per cent) had previously gone unrecognised and a high proportion (51 per cent) were identified through staff- or self-referral to the study. Originality/value The study demonstrated that improving awareness and providing access to skilled, standardised assessment within a male prison can result in increased recognition and identification of NDD

Rat mammary carcinogenesis following neutron- or X-radiation

Female 61 to 63 - day - old Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed once to a single dose of either 0.43 - MeV neutrons or 250 - kVX - rays . For neutrons 23 rats were exposed in plastic tubes rotated around and 31 c m from a water-cooled tritium impregnated target bombarded with 2.45 - MeV protons from a V a n de Graaff generator. The mean kerma was measured at the rat location by integrating the response of a rat - sized homogeneous tissue equivalent ionization chamber of minimum mass. The ratio between absorbed dose and kerma is under investigation and is anticipated to be approximately 0.7. A compensated GM gamma-ray dosimeter indicated that the gamma - ray doses were 3.5% of the total dose. All rats were examined weekly for the presence of breast tumours and these were removed, fixed, stained and verified histologically as mammary neoplasms. At 10 months after exposure 98<7ο of the rats were a live . The neutron kerma, the per cent of rats with mammary neoplasia, and the number of rats were, respectively: 0.125 rads, 8.2°}o, 182; 0.5 rads, 9.0^0, 89; 2 rads, 20. 6,68; and 8 rads, 31.1%, 45. The X - ray results were: 30 R, 1.4% 95; 60 R, 27. l°Io, 48; and 90 R, 35.4%, 48. A 3. O^o incidence was found in 167 control rats. At 10 months after exposure the mammary neoplastic response after 8 rads of neutrons corresponds approximately to that after 60 - 90 R of X - rays . Similarly, the response after 2 rads of neutrons was intermediate between 30 and 60 R of X - rays and the response after 0 . 125 and 0.5 rads of neutrons was similar to that after 30 R of X - rays . This demonstrates that the RBE for 0.43 - MeV neutrons is much lower at high doses than at low doses. Determination of the confidence limits for the dose-RBE dependence and dose-incidence relationship will be determined as additional data are collected

Can we prepare healthcare professionals and students for involvement in stressful healthcare events? A mixed-methods evaluation of a resilience training intervention

Background Healthcare professionals are experiencing unprecedented levels of occupational stress and burnout. Higher stress and burnout in health professionals is linked with the delivery of poorer quality, less safe patient care across healthcare settings. In order to understand how we can better support healthcare professionals in the workplace, this study evaluated a tailored resilience coaching intervention comprising a workshop and one-to-one coaching session addressing the intrinsic challenges of healthcare work in health professionals and students. Methods The evaluation used an uncontrolled before-and-after design with four data-collection time points: baseline (T1); after the workshop (T2); after the coaching session (T3) and four-to-six weeks post-baseline (T4). Quantitative outcome measures were Confidence in Coping with Adverse Events (‘Confidence’), a Knowledge assessment (‘Knowledge’) and Resilience. At T4, qualitative interviews were also conducted with a subset of participants exploring participant experiences and perceptions of the intervention. Results We recruited 66 participants, retaining 62 (93.9%) at T2, 47 (71.2%) at T3, and 33 (50%) at T4. Compared with baseline, Confidence was significantly higher post-intervention: T2 (unadj. β = 2.43, 95% CI 2.08–2.79, d = 1.55, p < .001), T3 (unadj. β = 2.81, 95% CI 2.42–3.21, d = 1.71, p < .001) and T4 (unadj. β = 2.75, 95% CI 2.31–3.19, d = 1.52, p < .001). Knowledge increased significantly post-intervention (T2 unadj. β = 1.14, 95% CI 0.82–1.46, d = 0.86, p < .001). Compared with baseline, resilience was also higher post-intervention (T3 unadj. β = 2.77, 95% CI 1.82–3.73, d = 0.90, p < .001 and T4 unadj. β = 2.54, 95% CI 1.45–3.62, d = 0.65, p < .001). The qualitative findings identified four themes. The first addressed the ‘tension between mandatory and voluntary delivery’, suggesting that resilience is a mandatory skillset but it may not be effective to make the training a mandatory requirement. The second, the ‘importance of experience and reference points for learning’, suggested the intervention was more appropriate for qualified staff than students. The third suggested participants valued the ‘peer learning and engagement’ they gained in the interactive group workshop. The fourth, ‘opportunities to tailor learning’, suggested the coaching session was an opportunity to personalise the workshop material. Conclusions We found preliminary evidence that the intervention was well received and effective, but further research using a randomised controlled design will be necessary to confirm this

ROSAT and ASCA observations of the Crab-Like Supernova Remnant N157B in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We report the results of ROSAT and ASCA X-ray observations of the supernova remnant N157B (or 30 Dor B, SNR 0539-69.1) in the Large Magellanic Cloud. For comparison, we also briefly describe the results on SNR 0540-69.3, the only confirmed Crab-like remnant in the Cloud. The X-ray emission from N157B can be decomposed into a bright comet-shaped feature, superimposed on a diffuse emission region of a dimension $\sim 20$ pc. The flat and nearly featureless spectrum of the remnant is distinctly different from those of young shell-like remnants, suggesting a predominantly Crab-like nature of N157B. Characterized by a power law with an energy slope $\sim 1.5$, the spectrum of N157B above $\sim 2$ keV is, however, considerably steeper than that of SNR 0540-69.3, which has a slope of $\sim 1.0$. At lower energies, the spectrum of N157B presents marginal evidence for emission lines, which if real most likely arise in hot gas of the diffuse emission region. The hot gas has a characteristic thermal temperature of 0.4-0.7 keV. No significant periodic signal is detected from N157B in the period range of $3 \times 10^{-3}-2000$ s. The pulsed fraction is $\lesssim 9$ (99% confidence) in the $2-7$ keV range. We discuss the nature of the individual X-ray components. In particular, we suggest that the synchrotron radiation of relativistic particles from a fast-moving ($\sim 10^3 km s^{-1}$) pulsar explains the size, morphology, spectrum, and energetics of the comet-shaped X-ray feature. We infer the age of the remnant as $\sim 5 \times 10^3$ yrs. The lack of radio polarization of the remnant may be due to Faraday dispersion by foreground \ion{H}{2} gas.Comment: To be published in The Astrophysical Journal, 21 pages, plus 11 images in the PS, GIF, or jpeg format. Postscript files of images are available at http://www.astro.nwu.edu/astro/wqd/paper/n157b