1,513 research outputs found
Advance telephone calls ahead of reminder questionnaires increase response rate in non-responders compared to questionnaire reminders only : The RECORD phone trial
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
An evaluation of the stimulants and impediments to innovation within PFI/PPP projects
This paper identifies the theoretical stimulants and impediments associated with the implementation of PFI/PPP (Private Finance Initiative/Public Private Partnership) projects. A current defect of this procurement approach is the unintentional constraint upon the innovations incorporated into the development of PFI projects. A critical evaluation of the published literature has been utilized to synthesize a theoretical model. The paper proposes a theoretical model for the identification of potential innovation stimulants and impediments within this type of procurement. This theoretical model is then utilised to evaluate four previously completed PFI projects. These project case-studies have been examined in detail. The evaluation demonstrates how ineffective current procedures are. The application of this model before project letting could eliminate unintentional constraints and stimulate improved innovation within the process. The implementation of the model could improve the successful delivery of innovation within the entire PFI/PPP procurement process
Scaling Analysis of Fluctuating Strength Function
We propose a new method to analyze fluctuations in the strength function
phenomena in highly excited nuclei. Extending the method of multifractal
analysis to the cases where the strength fluctuations do not obey power scaling
laws, we introduce a new measure of fluctuation, called the local scaling
dimension, which characterizes scaling behavior of the strength fluctuation as
a function of energy bin width subdividing the strength function. We discuss
properties of the new measure by applying it to a model system which simulates
the doorway damping mechanism of giant resonances. It is found that the local
scaling dimension characterizes well fluctuations and their energy scales of
fine structures in the strength function associated with the damped collective
motions.Comment: 22 pages with 9 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev.
Modulated Amplitude Waves in Bose-Einstein Condensates
We analyze spatio-temporal structures in the Gross-Pitaevskii equation to
study the dynamics of quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs)
with mean-field interactions. A coherent structure ansatz yields a
parametrically forced nonlinear oscillator, to which we apply Lindstedt's
method and multiple-scale perturbation theory to determine the dependence of
the intensity of periodic orbits (``modulated amplitude waves'') on their wave
number. We explore BEC band structure in detail using Hamiltonian perturbation
theory and supporting numerical simulations.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figs, revtex, final form of paper, to appear in PRE
(forgot to include \bibliography command in last update, so this is a
correction of that; the bibliography is hence present again
A comparison of precipitation and filtration-based SARS-CoV-2 recovery methods and the influence of temperature, turbidity, and surfactant load in urban wastewater
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has become a complimentary surveillance tool during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Viral concentration methods from wastewater are still being optimised and compared, whilst viral recovery under different wastewater characteristics and storage temperatures remains poorly understood. Using urban wastewater samples, we tested three viral concentration methods; polyethylene glycol precipitation (PEG), ammonium sulphate precipitation (AS), and CP select™ InnovaPrep® (IP) ultrafiltration. We found no major difference in SARS-CoV-2 and faecal indicator virus (crAssphage) recovery from wastewater samples (n = 46) using these methods, PEG slightly (albeit non-significantly), outperformed AS and IP for SARS-CoV-2 detection, as a higher genome copies per litre (gc/l) was recorded for a larger proportion of samples. Next generation sequencing of 8 paired samples revealed non-significant differences in the quality of data between AS and IP, though IP data quality was slightly better and less variable. A controlled experiment assessed the impact of wastewater suspended solids (turbidity; 0–400 NTU), surfactant load (0–200 mg/l), and storage temperature (5–20 °C) on viral recovery using the AS and IP methods. SARS-CoV-2 recoveries were >20% with AS and 0.05), whilst surfactant and storage temperature combined were significant negative correlates (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively). In conclusion, our results show that choice of methodology had small effect on viral recovery of SARS-CoV-2 and crAssphage in wastewater samples within this study. In contrast, sample turbidity, storage temperature, and surfactant load did affect viral recovery, highlighting the need for careful consideration of the viral concentration methodology used when working with wastewater samples
Sublocalization, superlocalization, and violation of standard single parameter scaling in the Anderson model
We discuss the localization behavior of localized electronic wave functions
in the one- and two-dimensional tight-binding Anderson model with diagonal
disorder. We find that the distributions of the local wave function amplitudes
at fixed distances from the localization center are well approximated by
log-normal fits which become exact at large distances. These fits are
consistent with the standard single parameter scaling theory for the Anderson
model in 1d, but they suggest that a second parameter is required to describe
the scaling behavior of the amplitude fluctuations in 2d. From the log-normal
distributions we calculate analytically the decay of the mean wave functions.
For short distances from the localization center we find stretched exponential
localization ("sublocalization") in both, 1d and 2d. In 1d, for large
distances, the mean wave functions depend on the number of configurations N
used in the averaging procedure and decay faster that exponentially
("superlocalization") converging to simple exponential behavior only in the
asymptotic limit. In 2d, in contrast, the localization length increases
logarithmically with the distance from the localization center and
sublocalization occurs also in the second regime. The N-dependence of the mean
wave functions is weak. The analytical result agrees remarkably well with the
numerical calculations.Comment: 12 pages with 9 figures and 1 tabl
An Institutional Theory perspective on sustainable practices across the dairy supply chain
AbstractThe need for sustainable practices in the food supply chain, particularly in the area of energy reduction, is becoming acute. The food industry currently has to contend with multiple competing pressures alongside the new challenges of sustainable production. We applied Institutional Theory to explore the role of supermarkets in the development of legitimate sustainable practices across the dairy supply chains. The paper focuses on dairy supply chain organizations and their consumption of energy. We conducted 70 semi-structured telephone interviews with various stakeholders across the supply chain. Findings revealed that the majority of actors in the supply chain identified supermarkets as the dominant player, and that the supermarkets exert pressure on other smaller organizations across the supply chain. Although some organizations wished to pursue a sustainable agenda through integrating new rules and legitimate practices within their own organization, the dominant logic appeared to be one of cost reduction and profit maximization. There was also evidence that supermarkets and other large organizations attempt to replicate publicly available information on green successes for image purposes. We conclude that the dominant logic of cost reduction is so well established that challenging the dominant logic may prove difficult. The challenge is therefore to complement the dominant logic with sustainable practices across the whole supply chain, a role Government needs to play. This will require a broader more systemic approach to encouraging sustainable practices including investment and financing practices, so that all members of the dairy supply chain can co-operate and contribute to energy reduction
A design theory for e-service environments: The interoperability challenge
The delivery of e-services across organizational boundaries poses a number of issues in terms of design of inter-organizational systems that support service delivery effectively. In this context interoperability emerges as a mandatory requirement for the design of Information Technology (IT) platforms supporting collaborative e-service environments. In this paper we address this issue by presenting a design theory for IT platforms supporting e-services based on both a deep understanding of the interoperability concept and a design research approach. Through the analysis of a cooperation framework developed in the context of an EU funded project, we instantiate the theory by providing the concrete example of a solution addressing this design problem. © 2012 Springer-Verlag GmbH Berlin Heidelberg.The delivery of e-services across organizational boundaries poses a number of issues in terms of design of inter-organizational systems that support service delivery effectively. In this context interoperability emerges as a mandatory requirement for the design of Information Technology (IT) platforms supporting collaborative e-service environments. In this paper we address this issue by presenting a design theory for IT platforms supporting e-services based on both a deep understanding of the interoperability concept and a design research approach. Through the analysis of a cooperation framework developed in the context of an EU funded project, we instantiate the theory by providing the concrete example of a solution addressing this design problem. © 2012 Springer-Verlag GmbH Berlin Heidelberg.Monograph's chapter
Origin of the low-mass electron pair excess in light nucleus-nucleus collisions
We report measurements of electron pair production in elementary p+p and d+p
reactions at 1.25 GeV/u with the HADES spectrometer. For the first time, the
electron pairs were reconstructed for n+p reactions by detecting the proton
spectator from the deuteron breakup. We find that the yield of electron pairs
with invariant mass Me+e- > 0.15 GeV/c2 is about an order of magnitude larger
in n+p reactions as compared to p+p. A comparison to model calculations
demonstrates that the production mechanism is not sufficiently described yet.
The electron pair spectra measured in C+C reactions are compatible with a
superposition of elementary n+p and p+p collisions, leaving little room for
additional electron pair sources in such light collision systems.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, \usepackage{epsfig
Study of dielectron production in C+C collisions at 1 AGeV
The emission of e+e- pairs from C+C collisions at an incident energy of 1 GeV
per nucleon has been investigated. The measured production probabilities,
spanning from the pi0-Dalitz to the rho/omega! invariant-mass region, display a
strong excess above the cocktail of standard hadronic sources. The
bombarding-energy dependence of this excess is found to scale like pion
production, rather than like eta production. The data are in good agreement
with results obtained in the former DLS experiment.Comment: submitted to Physics Letters
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