Design and evaluation of a personal digital assistant-based alerting service for clinicians

pre-printPurpose: This study describes the system architecture and user acceptance of a suite of programs that deliver information about newly updated library resources to clinicians' personal digital assistants (PDAs). Description: Participants received headlines delivered to their PDAs alerting them to new books, National Guideline Clearinghouse guidelines, Cochrane Reviews, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Alerts, as well as updated content in UpToDate, Harrison's Online, Scientific American Medicine, and Clinical Evidence. Participants could request additional information for any of the headlines, and the information was delivered via email during their next synchronization. Participants completed a survey at the conclusion of the study to gauge their opinions about the service. Results/Outcome: Of the 816 headlines delivered to the 16 study participants' PDAs during the project, Scientific American Medicine generated the highest proportion of headline requests at 35%. Most users of the PDA Alerts software reported that they learned about new medical developments sooner than they otherwise would have, and half reported that they learned about developments that they would not have heard about at all. While some users liked the PDA platform for receiving headlines, it seemed that a Web database that allowed tailored searches and alerts could be configured to satisfy both PDA-oriented and email-oriented users

Design and evaluation of a personal digital assistant-based alerting service for clinicians

Purpose: This study describes the system architecture and user acceptance of a suite of programs that deliver information about newly updated library resources to clinicians’ personal digital assistants (PDAs). Description: Participants received headlines delivered to their PDAs alerting them to new books, National Guideline Clearinghouse guidelines, Cochrane Reviews, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Alerts, as well as updated content in UpToDate, Harrison's Online, Scientific American Medicine, and Clinical Evidence. Participants could request additional information for any of the headlines, and the information was delivered via email during their next synchronization. Participants completed a survey at the conclusion of the study to gauge their opinions about the service. Results/Outcome: Of the 816 headlines delivered to the 16 study participants’ PDAs during the project, Scientific American Medicine generated the highest proportion of headline requests at 35%. Most users of the PDA Alerts software reported that they learned about new medical developments sooner than they otherwise would have, and half reported that they learned about developments that they would not have heard about at all. While some users liked the PDA platform for receiving headlines, it seemed that a Web database that allowed tailored searches and alerts could be configured to satisfy both PDA-oriented and email-oriented users.Includes bibliographical references

Semiclassical Decay of Excited String States on Leading Regge Trajectories

We study the decay of hadrons based on a semiclassical string model. By including quark mass effects we find that the width to mass ratio \G/m is an increasing function of $m$, which increases most rapidly for massive quarks. This is consistent with the available data. The decay probability of hadrons on the leading Regge trajectories is computed taking the effect of the string rotation into account. The resulting decay probability is no longer uniform along the length of the string but varies in a manner that is in qualitative agreement with the available data. We argue in favour of possible experiments that would test our predictions more accurately and help open a window to the nonperturbative aspects of QCD.Comment: 15 PAGES, UR-1326, ER-40685-776, SU-4240-55

Structure of 8B from elastic and inelastic 7Be+p scattering

Motivation: Detailed experimental knowledge of the level structure of light weakly bound nuclei is necessary to guide the development of new theoretical approaches that combine nuclear structure with reaction dynamics. Purpose: The resonant structure of 8B is studied in this work. Method: Excitation functions for elastic and inelastic 7Be+p scattering were measured using a 7Be rare isotope beam. Excitation energies ranging between 1.6 and 3.4 MeV were investigated. An R-matrix analysis of the excitation functions was performed. Results: New low-lying resonances at 1.9, 2.5, and 3.3 MeV in 8B are reported with spin-parity assignment 0+, 2+, and 1+, respectively. Comparison to the Time Dependent Continuum Shell (TDCSM) model and ab initio no-core shell model/resonating-group method (NCSM/RGM) calculations is performed. This work is a more detailed analysis of the data first published as a Rapid Communication. [J.P. Mitchell, et al, Phys. Rev. C 82, 011601(R) (2010)] Conclusions: Identification of the 0+, 2+, 1+ states that were predicted by some models at relatively low energy but never observed experimentally is an important step toward understanding the structure of 8B. Their identification was aided by having both elastic and inelastic scattering data. Direct comparison of the cross sections and phase shifts predicted by the TDCSM and ab initio No Core Shell Model coupled with the resonating group method is of particular interest and provides a good test for these theoretical approaches.Comment: 15 pages, 19 figures, 3 tables, submitted to PR

Low-lying states in 8B

Excitation functions of elastic and inelastic 7Be+p scattering were measured in the energy range between 1.6 and 2.8 MeV in the c.m. An R-matrix analysis of the excitation functions provides strong evidence for new positive parity states in 8B. A new 2+ state at an excitation energy of 2.55 MeV was observed and a new 0+ state at 1.9 MeV is tentatively suggested. The R-matrix and Time Dependent Continuum Shell Model were used in the analysis of the excitation functions. The new results are compared to the calculations of contemporary theoretical models.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted as Rapid Communication in Phys. Rev.

A planetary companion around the K giant eps Corona Borealis

Aims. Our aim is to search for and study the origin of the low-amplitude and long-periodic radial velocity (RV) variations in K giants. Methods. We present high-resolution RV measurements of K2 giant epsilon CrB from February 2005 to January 2012 using the fiber-fed Bohyunsan Observatory Echelle Spectrograph (BOES) at the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (BOAO). Results. We find that the RV measurements for epsilon CrB exhibit a periodic variation of 417.9 +/- 0.5 days with a semi-amplitude of 129.4 +/- 2.0 m/s. There is no correlation between RV measurements and chromospheric activity in the Ca II H region, the Hipparcos photometry, or bisector velocity span. Conclusions. Keplerian motion is the most likely explanation, with the RV variations arising from an orbital motion. Assuming a possible stellar mass of 1.7 +/- 0.1 M_Sun for epsilon CrB, we obtain a minimum mass for the planetary companion of 6.7 +/- 0.3 M_Jup with an orbital semi-major axis of 1.3 AU and eccentricity of 0.11. We also discuss the implications of our observations for stellar metallicity versus planet occurrence rate and stellar mass versus planetary mass relations.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publisation in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Neutron Resonance Spectroscopy of 117Sn from1 eV to 1.5 keV

Parity violation has been studied recently for neutron resonances in 117Sn. The neutron resonance spectroscopy is essential for the analysis of the parity violation data. We have measured neutron resonances in 117Sn for neutron energies from 1 to 1500 eV using the time-of-flight method and the (n,γ) reaction. The sample was enriched to 87.6% 117Sn. Neutron scattering and radiative widths were determined, and orbital angular momentum assignments were made with a Bayesian analysis. The s-wave and p-wave strength functions and average level spacings were determined

Parity Violation in Neutron Resonances of 117 Sn

Parity nonconservation (PNC) has been studied in neutron p-wave resonances of 117Sn. The longitudinal asymmetries were measured for 29 p-wave resonances in the neutron energy range 0.8 eV to 1100 eV. Statistically significant PNC effects were observed for four resonances. A statistical analysis determined the rms weak mixing matrix element and the weak spreading width. A weak spreading width of Γw=(0.28-0.15+0.56)×10-7 eV was obtained for117Sn