679 research outputs found
Exploring atmospheric radon with airborne gamma-ray spectroscopy
Rn is a noble radioactive gas produced along the U decay
chain, which is present in the majority of soils and rocks. As Rn is
the most relevant source of natural background radiation, understanding its
distribution in the environment is of great concern for investigating the
health impacts of low-level radioactivity and for supporting regulation of
human exposure to ionizing radiation in modern society. At the same time,
Rn is a widespread atmospheric tracer whose spatial distribution is
generally used as a proxy for climate and pollution studies. Airborne gamma-ray
spectroscopy (AGRS) always treated Rn as a source of background since
it affects the indirect estimate of equivalent U concentration. In this
work the AGRS method is used for the first time for quantifying the presence of
Rn in the atmosphere and assessing its vertical profile. High
statistics radiometric data acquired during an offshore survey are fitted as a
superposition of a constant component due to the experimental setup background
radioactivity plus a height dependent contribution due to cosmic radiation and
atmospheric Rn. The refined statistical analysis provides not only a
conclusive evidence of AGRS Rn detection but also a (0.96 0.07)
Bq/m Rn concentration and a (1318 22) m atmospheric layer
depth fully compatible with literature data.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, 2 table
Can mixed reality technologies teach surgical skills better than traditional methods? A prospective randomised feasibility study
Background Basic surgical skills teaching is often delivered with didactic audio-visual content, and new digital technologies may allow more engaging and effective ways of teaching to be developed. The Microsoft HoloLens 2 (HL2) is a multi-functional mixed reality headset. This prospective feasibility study sought to assess the device as a tool for enhancing technical surgical skills training. Methods A prospective randomised feasibility study was conducted. 36 novice medical students were trained to perform a basic arteriotomy and closure using a synthetic model. Participants were randomised to receive a structured surgical skills tutorial via a bespoke mixed reality HL2 tutorial (n = 18), or via a standard video-based tutorial (n = 18). Proficiency scores were assessed by blinded examiners using a validated objective scoring system and participant feedback collected. Results The HL2 group showed significantly greater improvement in overall technical proficiency compared to the video group (10.1 vs. 6.89, p = 0.0076), and a greater consistency in skill progression with a significantly narrower range of scores (SD 2.48 vs. 4.03, p = 0.026). Participant feedback showed the HL2 technology to be more interactive and engaging with minimal device related problems experienced. Conclusions This study has demonstrated that mixed reality technology may provide a higher quality educational experience, improved skill progression and greater consistency in learning when compared to traditional teaching methodologies for basic surgical skills. Further work is required to refine, translate, and evaluate the scalability and applicability of the technology across a broad range of skills-based disciplines
Maximum Independent Sets in Subcubic Graphs: New Results
The maximum independent set problem is known to be NP-hard in the class of
subcubic graphs, i.e. graphs of vertex degree at most 3. We present a
polynomial-time solution in a subclass of subcubic graphs generalizing several
previously known results
The use of mixed reality technology for the objective assessment of clinical skills: a validation study
Background Mixed Reality technology may provide many advantages over traditional teaching methods. Despite its potential, the technology has yet to be used for the formal assessment of clinical competency. This study sought to collect validity evidence and assess the feasibility of using the HoloLens 2 mixed reality headset for the conduct and augmentation of Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs). Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted to compare the assessment of undergraduate medical students undertaking OSCEs via HoloLens 2 live (HLL) and recorded (HLR), and gold-standard in-person (IP) methods. An augmented mixed reality scenario was also assessed. Results 13 undergraduate participants completed a total of 65 OSCE stations. Overall inter-modality correlation was 0.81 (p=0.01), 0.98 (p=0.01) and 0.82 (p=0.01) for IP vs. HLL, HLL vs. HLR and IP vs. HLR respectively. Skill based correlations for IP vs. HLR were assessed for history taking (0.82, p=0.01), clinical examination (0.81, p=0.01), procedural (0.88, p=0.01) and clinical skills (0.92, p=0.01), and assessment of a virtual mixed reality patient (0.74, p=0.01). The HoloLens device was deemed to be usable and practical (Standard Usability Scale (SUS) score = 51.5), and the technology was thought to deliver greater flexibility and convenience, and have the potential to expand and enhance assessment opportunities. Conclusions HoloLens 2 is comparable to traditional in-person examination of undergraduate medical students for both live and recorded assessments, and therefore is a valid and robust method for objectively assessing performance. The technology is in its infancy, and users need to develop confidence in its usability and reliability as an assessment tool. However, the potential to integrate additional functionality including holographic content, automated tracking and data analysis, and to facilitate remote assessment may allow the technology to enhance, expand and standardise examinations across a range of educational contexts
First Observations of a "Fast Beam-Ion Instability"
We report the results of experiments on a "fast beam-ion instability" at the Advanced Light Source (ALS). This ion instability, which can arise even where the ions are not trapped over multiple beam passages, will likely be important for many future accelerators. In our experiments, we filled the ALS storage ring with helium gas, raising the pressure approximately two orders of magnitude above the nominal value. With gaps in the bunch train large enough to avoid conventional (multi-turn) ion trapping, we observed a factor of 2-3 increase in the vertical beam size along with coherent beam oscillations. The single-pass nature of this instability was demonstrated
Semilinear mixed problems on Hilbert complexes and their numerical approximation
Arnold, Falk, and Winther recently showed [Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 47 (2010),
281-354] that linear, mixed variational problems, and their numerical
approximation by mixed finite element methods, can be studied using the
powerful, abstract language of Hilbert complexes. In another recent article
[arXiv:1005.4455], we extended the Arnold-Falk-Winther framework by analyzing
variational crimes (a la Strang) on Hilbert complexes. In particular, this gave
a treatment of finite element exterior calculus on manifolds, generalizing
techniques from surface finite element methods and recovering earlier a priori
estimates for the Laplace-Beltrami operator on 2- and 3-surfaces, due to Dziuk
[Lecture Notes in Math., vol. 1357 (1988), 142-155] and later Demlow [SIAM J.
Numer. Anal., 47 (2009), 805-827], as special cases. In the present article, we
extend the Hilbert complex framework in a second distinct direction: to the
study of semilinear mixed problems. We do this, first, by introducing an
operator-theoretic reformulation of the linear mixed problem, so that the
semilinear problem can be expressed as an abstract Hammerstein equation. This
allows us to obtain, for semilinear problems, a priori solution estimates and
error estimates that reduce to the Arnold-Falk-Winther results in the linear
case. We also consider the impact of variational crimes, extending the results
of our previous article to these semilinear problems. As an immediate
application, this new framework allows for mixed finite element methods to be
applied to semilinear problems on surfaces.Comment: 22 pages; v2: major revision, particularly sharpening of error
estimates in Section
Potential for measurement of the tensor magnetic polarizability of the deuteron in storage ring experiments
General formulas describing deuteron spin dynamics in storage rings with
allowance for the tensor electric and magnetic polarizabilities are derived. It
is found that an initially tensor-polarized deuteron beam can acquire a final
horizontal vector polarization of the order of 1%. This effect allows one to
measure the tensor magnetic polarizability of the deuteron in storage ring
experiments. We also confirm an existence of the effect found by Baryshevsky
and Gurinovich, hep-ph/0506135 and Baryshevsky, hep-ph/0510158; hep-ph/0603191
that the tensor magnetic polarizability of the deuteron causes the spin
rotation with two frequencies and experiences beating for polarized deuteron
beams in storage rings.Comment: Corrected text, 8 page
MULTIPLE HIGH CURRENT BUNCHES IN PEP-II
Operation with colliding beams at PEP-II has progressed remarkably well with over half the design specific luminosity and 5:2 10 32 cm,2s,1 in multiple bunches demonstrated during the last commissioning period before installation of the BABAR detector. Further luminosity increases are anticipated as the vertical beam size is reduced and beam currents are raised towards design values. At high currents interesting multibunch dynamics, which depend strongly on current distribution, have been observed during single-beam commissioning studies. Transverse beam instabilities nominally controlled using bunch-by-bunch feedback were observed to be significantly suppressed, in the absence of feedback, with beams in collision.
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