Participatory inclusion evaluation: a flexible approach to building the evidence base on the impact of community-based rehabilitation and inclusive development programmes

In response to the variability, complexity, and cross-sectoral nature of community-based rehabilitation (CBR) programmes and the lack of a structured approach to impact evaluations, an innovative model and set of tools, called the participatory inclusion evaluation (PIE) approach, has been developed. This is conceptualised in an evaluation framework, influenced by diverse evaluation theories and methods used in mainstream international development. Each has its own merits and shortcomings, so we have developed a hybrid to ensure a pragmatic and flexible mixed methods approach. We discuss the theoretical choices made in the evolution of PIE. PIE involves the participation of three types of stakeholders: people with disabilities, the CBR core team, and the network of strategic partners. PIE assesses the impact and the what, how and why of CBR programmes, privileging people with disabilities’ perspectives. In synchrony with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) principles and the World Health Organisation (WHO) CBR guidelines, impact is defined as changes in inclusion, empowerment, and living conditions. PIE was developed using a participatory process, piloted in Uganda and Malawi. It provides a flexible outcome and impact evaluation methodology for CBR, using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative data, using an inclusive and participatory approach

Maxwell's theory on a post-Riemannian spacetime and the equivalence principle

The form of Maxwell's theory is well known in the framework of general relativity, a fact that is related to the applicability of the principle of equivalence to electromagnetic phenomena. We pose the question whether this form changes if torsion and/or nonmetricity fields are allowed for in spacetime. Starting from the conservation laws of electric charge and magnetic flux, we recognize that the Maxwell equations themselves remain the same, but the constitutive law must depend on the metric and, additionally, may depend on quantities related to torsion and/or nonmetricity. We illustrate our results by putting an electric charge on top of a spherically symmetric exact solution of the metric-affine gauge theory of gravity (comprising torsion and nonmetricity). All this is compared to the recent results of Vandyck.Comment: 9 pages, REVTeX, no figures; minor changes, version to be published in Class. Quantum Gra

Semirelativistic stability of N-boson systems bound by 1/r pair potentials

We analyze a system of self-gravitating identical bosons by means of a semirelativistic Hamiltonian comprising the relativistic kinetic energies of the involved particles and added (instantaneous) Newtonian gravitational pair potentials. With the help of an improved lower bound to the bottom of the spectrum of this Hamiltonian, we are able to enlarge the known region for relativistic stability for such boson systems against gravitational collapse and to sharpen the predictions for their maximum stable mass.Comment: 11 pages, considerably enlarged introduction and motivation, remainder of the paper unchange

Advances in Moire interferometry for thermal response of composites

An experimental technique for the precise measurement of the thermal response of both sides of a laminated composite coupon specimen uses Moire interferometry with fringe multiplication which yields a sensitivity of 833 nm (32.8 micro in.) per fringe. The reference gratings used are virtual gratings and are formed by partially mirrorized glass prisms in close proximity to the specimen. Results are compared with both results obtained from tests which used Moire interferometry on one side of composite laminates, and with those predicted by classical lamination theory. The technique is shown to be capable of producing the sensitivity and accuracy necessary to measure a wide range of thermal responses and to detect small side to side variations in the measured response. Tests were conducted on four laminate configurations of T300/5208 graphite epoxy over a temperature range of 297 K (75 F) to 422 K (300 F). The technique presented allows for the generation of reference gratings for temperature regimes well outside that used in these tests

An infinite family of superintegrable Hamiltonians with reflection in the plane

We introduce a new infinite class of superintegrable quantum systems in the plane. Their Hamiltonians involve reflection operators. The associated Schr\"odinger equations admit separation of variables in polar coordinates and are exactly solvable. The angular part of the wave function is expressed in terms of little -1 Jacobi polynomials. The spectra exhibit "accidental" degeneracies. The superintegrability of the model is proved using the recurrence relation approach. The (higher-order) constants of motion are constructed and the structure equations of the symmetry algebra obtained.Comment: 19 page

Quality and Publication of Emergency Medicine Trials Registered in ClinicalTrials.gov

Introduction: Promoting emergency medicine (EM) clinical trials research remains a priority. To characterize the status of clinical EM research, this study assessed trial quality, funding source, and publication of EM clinical trials and compared EM and non-EM trials on these key metrics. We also examined the volume of EM trials and their subspecialty areas.Methods: We abstracted data from ClinicalTrials.gov (February 2000 - September 2013) and used individual study National Clinical Trial numbers to identify published trials (January 2007 - September 2016). We used descriptive statistics and chi-square tests to examine study characteristics by EM and non-EM status, and Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests to compare time to publication of completed EM and non-EM studies.Results: We found 638 interventional EM trials and 59,512 non-EM interventional trials conducted in the United States between February 2000 and September 2013, registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. EM studies were significantly less likely than non-EM studies to be National Institutes of Health-funded or to evaluate a drug or biologic. However, EM studies had significantly larger sample sizes, and were significantly more likely to use randomization and blinding. Overall, 34.3% of EM and 26.0% of non-EM studies were published in peer-reviewed journals. By subspecialty, more EM trials concerned medical/surgical and psychiatric/neurological conditions than trauma.Conclusion: Although EM studies were less likely to have received federal or industry funding, and the EM portfolio consisted of only 638 trials over the 14-year study period, the quality of EM trials surpassed that of non-EM trials, based on indices such as randomization and blinding. This novel finding bodes well for the future of clinical EM research, as does the higher proportion of published EM than non-EM trials. Our study also revealed that trauma studies were under-represented among EM studies. Periodic assessment of EM trials with the metrics used here could provide an informative and valuable longitudinal view of progress in clinical EM research

A superintegrable finite oscillator in two dimensions with SU(2) symmetry

A superintegrable finite model of the quantum isotropic oscillator in two dimensions is introduced. It is defined on a uniform lattice of triangular shape. The constants of the motion for the model form an SU(2) symmetry algebra. It is found that the dynamical difference eigenvalue equation can be written in terms of creation and annihilation operators. The wavefunctions of the Hamiltonian are expressed in terms of two known families of bivariate Krawtchouk polynomials; those of Rahman and those of Tratnik. These polynomials form bases for SU(2) irreducible representations. It is further shown that the pair of eigenvalue equations for each of these families are related to each other by an SU(2) automorphism. A finite model of the anisotropic oscillator that has wavefunctions expressed in terms of the same Rahman polynomials is also introduced. In the continuum limit, when the number of grid points goes to infinity, standard two-dimensional harmonic oscillators are obtained. The analysis provides the $N\rightarrow \infty$ limit of the bivariate Krawtchouk polynomials as a product of one-variable Hermite polynomials

Constitutive modelling of Sandvik 1RK91

A physically based constitutive equation is being developed for the maraging\ud stainless steel Sandvik 1RK91. The steel is used to make precision parts. These parts are formed through multistage forming operations and heat treatments from cold rolled and annealed sheets. The specific alloy is designed to be thermodynamically unstable, so that deformation even at room temperatures can bring about a change in the phase of face centred cubic austenite to either hexagonal closed packed martensite and/or, body centred cubic martensite. This solid state phase change is a function of the strain path, strain, strain rate and temperature. Thus, the fraction of the new phase formed depends on the state of stress at a given location in the part being formed. Therefore a set of experiments is being conducted in order to quantify the stress-strain behavior of this steel under various stress states, strain, strain rate as well as temperature. A magnetic sensor records the fraction of ferromagnetic martensite formed from paramagnetic austenite. A thermocouple as well as an infra red thermometer is used to log the change in temperature of the steel during a mechanical test. The force-displacement data are converted to stress-strain data after correcting for the changes in strain rate and temperature. These data are then cast into a general form of constitutive equation and the transformation equations are derived from Olson-Cohen type functions

Corrections to Sirlin's Theorem in O(p6)O(p^6) Chiral Perturbation Theory

We present the results of the first two-loop calculation of a form factor in full $SU(3) \times SU(3)$ Chiral Perturbation Theory. We choose a specific linear combination of $\pi^+, K^+, K^0$ and $K\pi$ form factors (the one appearing in Sirlin's theorem) which does not get contributions from order $p^6$ operators with unknown constants. For the charge radii, the correction to the previous one-loop result turns out to be significant, but still there is no agreement with the present data due to large experimental uncertainties in the kaon charge radii.Comment: 6 pages, Latex, 2 LaTeX figure