473 research outputs found
Effects of sterilization and vacuum exposure on potential heat shield materials for unmanned Mars mission
Sterilization and vacuum exposure effects on potential heat shield materials for unmanned Mars mission
An investigation of some thermal and mechanical properties of a low-density phenolic-nylon ablation material Final report
Thermal and mechanical properties of phenolic nylon ablation material
The permeabilities of three porous graphites Final report
Permeability measurements of porous graphites measured from room temperature to 1000 deg F in gaseous nitrogen and heliu
An investigation of the mechanisms of heat transfer in low-density phenolic-nylon chars
Conductive heat transfer mechanisms in low density phenolic-nylon char
The reduced cost of providing a nationally recognised service for familial hypercholesterolaemia
OBJECTIVE: Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) affects 1 in 500 people in the UK population and is associated with premature morbidity and mortality from coronary heart disease. In 2008, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended genetic testing of potential FH index cases and cascade testing of their relatives. Commissioners have been slow to respond although there is strong evidence of cost and clinical effectiveness. Our study quantifies the recent reduced cost of providing a FH service using generic atorvastatin and compares NICE costing estimates with three suggested alternative models of care (a specialist-led service, a dual model service where general practitioners (GPs) can access specialist advice, and a GP-led service).METHODS: Revision of existing 3?year costing template provided by NICE for FH services, and prediction of costs for running a programme over 10?years. Costs were modelled for the first population-based FH service in England which covers Southampton, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Portsmouth (SHIP). Population 1.95 million.RESULTS: With expiry of the Lipitor (Pfizer atorvastatin) patent the cost of providing a 10-year FH service in SHIP reduces by 42.5% (£4.88 million on patent vs £2.80 million off patent). Further cost reductions are possible as a result of the reduced cost of DNA testing, more management in general practice, and lower referral rates to specialists. For instance a dual-care model with GP management of patients supported by specialist advice when required, costs £1.89 million.CONCLUSIONS: The three alternative models of care are now <50% of the cost of the original estimates undertaken by NICE
An investigation and comparison of speech recognition software for determining if bird song recordings contain legible human voices
The purpose of this work was to test the effectiveness of using readily available speech recognition API services to determine if recordings of bird song had inadvertently recorded human voices. A mobile phone was used to record a human speaking at increasing distances from the phone in an outside setting with bird song occurring in the background. One of the services was trained with sample recordings nd each service was compared for their ability to return recognized words. The services from Google and IBM performed similarly and the Microsoft service, that allowed training, performed slightly better. However, all three services failed to perform at a level that would enable recordings with recognizable human speech to be deleted in order to maintain full privacy protection
An innovative virtual reality training tool for orthognathic surgery
Virtual reality (VR) surgery using Oculus Rift and Leap Motion devices is a multi-sensory, holistic surgical training experience. A multimedia combination including 360° videos, three-dimensional interaction, and stereoscopic videos in VR has been developed to enable trainees to experience a realistic surgery environment. The innovation allows trainees to interact with the individual components of the maxillofacial anatomy and apply surgical instruments while watching close-up stereoscopic three-dimensional videos of the surgery. In this study, a novel training tool for Le Fort I osteotomy based on immersive virtual reality (iVR) was developed and validated. Seven consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeons evaluated the application for face and content validity. Using a structured assessment process, the surgeons commented on the content of the developed training tool, its realism and usability, and the applicability of VR surgery for orthognathic surgical training. The results confirmed the clinical applicability of VR for delivering training in orthognathic surgery. Modifications were suggested to improve the user experience and interactions with the surgical instruments. This training tool is ready for testing with surgical trainees
Thermophysical properties of a low-density phenolic-nylon ablation material
Thermophysical properties of nondegradated and thermally degradated low density phenolic-nylon ablating materia
Interferometry with few photons
Optical phase determination is an important and established tool in diverse
fields such as astronomy, biology, or quantum optics. There is increasing
interest in using a lower number of total photons. However, different noise
sources, such as electronic readout noise in the detector, and shot noise,
hamper the phase estimation in regimes of very low illumination. Here we report
a study on how the quality of phase determination is affected by these two
sources of noise. To that end, we experimentally reconstruct different
wavefronts by means of a point diffraction interferometer for different mean
intensities of illumination, up to . Our interferometer
features a Skipper-CCD sensor, which allows us to reduce the readout noise
arbitrarily, thus enabling us to separate the effect of these two sources of
noise. For two cases of interest: a spatial qudit encoding phase, consisting of
d = 6 uniform phase regions, and a more general continuous phase, we see that
reducing the readout noise leads to a clear improvement in the quality of
reconstruction. This can be explained by a simple noise model that allows us to
predict the expected fidelity of reconstruction and shows excellent agreement
with the measurements
Tractarian Objects and Logical Categories
It has been much debated whether Tractarian objects are what Russell would have called particulars or whether they include also properties and relations. This paper claims that the debate is misguided: there is no logical category such that Wittgenstein intended the reader of the Tractatus to understand his objects either as providing examples of or as not providing examples of that category. This is not to say that Wittgenstein set himself against the very idea of a logical category: quite the contrary. However, where Russell presents his logical variety of particulars and the various types of universal, and Frege presents his of objects and the various types of function, Wittgenstein denies the propriety of such a priori expositions. Wittgenstein envisages a variety of logical types of entity but insists that the nature of these types is something to be discovered only through analysis
- …