An Elementary Proof of the Existence of a Competitive Equilibrium in a Special Case

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Global Emergence of Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole Resistance in Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Mediated by Acquisition of sul Genes

The first sul2 genes have been found in S. maltophilia from several different countries

Costs and difficulties of recruiting patients to provide e-health support: pilot study in one primary care trust

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Better use of e-health services by patients could improve outcomes and reduce costs but there are concerns about inequalities of access. Previous research in outpatients suggested that anonymous personal email support may help patients with long term conditions to use e-health, but recruiting earlier in their 'journey' may benefit patients more. This pilot study explored the feasibility and cost of recruiting patients for an e-health intervention in one primary care trust.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The sample comprised 46 practices with total patient population of 250,000. We approached all practices using various methods, seeking collaboration to recruit patients via methods agreed with each practice. A detailed research diary was kept of time spent recruiting practices and patients. Researcher time was used to estimate costs. Patients who consented to participate were offered email support for their use of the Internet for health.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eighteen practices agreed to take part; we recruited 27 patients, most (23/27) from five practices. Practices agreed to recruit patients for an e-health intervention via waiting room leaflets (16), posters (16), practice nurses (15), doctors giving patients leaflets (5), a study website link (7), inclusion in planned mailshots (2), and a special mailshot to patients selected from practice computers (1). After low recruitment response we also recruited directly in five practices through research assistants giving leaflets to patients in waiting rooms. Ten practices recruited no patients. Those practices that were more difficult to recruit were less likely to recruit patients. Leaving leaflets for practice staff to distribute and placing posters in the practice were not effective in recruiting patients. Leaflets handed out by practice nurses and website links were more successful. The practice with lowest costs per patient recruited (£70) used a special mailshot to selected patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Recruitment via general practice was not successful and was therefore expensive. Direct to consumer methods and recruitment of patients in outpatients to offer email support may be more cost effective. If recruitment in general practice is required, contacting practices by letter and email, not following up non-responding practices, and recruiting patients with selected conditions by special mailshot may be the most cost-effective approach.</p

Experimental observation of conductance transients in Al/SiNx:H/Si metal-insulator-semiconductor structures

Room temperature conductance transients in the SiNx:H/Si interface are reported. Silicon nitride thin films were directly deposited on silicon by the low temperature electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma method. The shape of the conductance transients varies with the frequency at which they are obtained. This behavior is explained in terms of a disorder-induced gap-state continuum model for the interfacial defects. A perfect agreement between experiment and theory is obtained proving the validity of the model. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics

Deploying a BTLE positioning system: practical issues on calibration

Nowadays, the Bluetooth Low-Energy (BTLE) technology is integrated in numerous smartphones and beacons, but there is still an open challenge on delivering a presence-into-zone positioning system that facilitates the design and reconfiguration of the service zones and offers stable target tracking. In this paper, we report the experience gained from the deployment of a BTLE zone-based positioning system in a retail setting with defined service objectives. The algorithm powering the positioning system requires previous calibration, which comes to be a tedious and long invasive process when it is accomplished in a space with high people flow. The paper describes our work to minimize the calibration effort, by analyzing the effect of calibration samples reduction and proposing the application of a on-the-move calibration strategy that facilitates the calibration dynamics preserving the system's correct recognition rate

Characterization of the EL2 center in GaAs by optical admittance spectroscopy

We have measured the electron optical capture cross section, σ0n(hν), of EL2 (the most important native center in GaAs) using a new technique which we have recently developed: optical admittance spectroscopy. This is a spectroscopic technique based on the measurement of the capacitance and conductance of a junction under monochromatic light of energy hν. This technique allows the measurement of the spectrum σ0n(hν) of each center located in the band gap. We have measured the electron photoionization cross section of the EL2 center, σ0n(hν), at three different temperatures within a range limited at high temperature by thermal emission and at low temperature by photoquenching (a feature characteristic of EL2 below 140 K). The study of the experimental data reveals that this center has a more complex nature than that of a simple defect. It seems to behave like a family of very close levels corresponding to similar atomic structures and located near the midgap. These results also reveal the existence of a sha..

Hydrologic induced deformation : Distinguish surface loading from pressure induced uplift

The observation of crustal deformation is a means to calculate the strain rates and the stress loading at faults. The strain rate is expected to vary in time during the earthquake cycle, but also due to hydrologic masses and fluxes. Hydrologic mass is an elastic loading of the crust, with a consequent lowering and return to the starting position. The opposite effect occurs in places in which the subsurface waters are constrained to flow in channels with consequent buildup of pressure of the water, which determines a surface uplift and deformation. This latter effect is present in karst areas, and in particular in the classical karst shared between Italy and Slovenia, where crustal deformation is measured with tiltmeters in caves and GPS at the surface