Observables in the Decays of B to Two Vector Mesons

In general there are nine observables in the decay of a B meson to two vector mesons defined in terms of polarization correlations of these mesons. Only six of these can be detected via the subsequent decay angular distributions because of parity conservation in those decays. The remaining three require the measurement of the spin polarization of one of the decay products.Comment: 12 pages, no figur

Should I stay or should I go? Exploring the job preferences of allied health professionals working with people with disability in rural Australia

Introduction: The uneven distribution of allied health professionals (AHPs) in rural and remote Australia and other countries is well documented. In Australia, like elsewhere, service delivery to rural and remote communities is complicated because relatively small numbers of clients are dispersed over large geographic areas. This uneven distribution of AHPs impacts significantly on the provision of services particularly in areas of special need such as mental health, aged care and disability services. Objective: This study aimed to determine the relative importance that AHPs (physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists and psychologists – “therapists”) living in a rural area of Australia and working with people with disability, place on different job characteristics and how these may affect their retention. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using an online questionnaire distributed to AHPs working with people with disability in a rural area of Australia over a 3-month period. Information was sought about various aspects of the AHPs’ current job, and their workforce preferences were explored using a best–worst scaling discrete choice experiment (BWSDCE). Conditional logistic and latent class regression models were used to determine AHPs’ relative preferences for six different job attributes. Results: One hundred ninety-nine AHPs completed the survey; response rate was 51 %. Of those, 165 completed the BWSDCE task. For this group of AHPs, “high autonomy of practice” is the most valued attribute level, followed by “travel BWSDCE arrangements: one or less nights away per month”, “travel arrangements: two or three nights away per month” and “adequate access to professional development”. On the other hand, the least valued attribute levels were “travel arrangements: four or more nights per month”, “limited autonomy of practice” and “minimal access to professional development”. Except for “some job flexibility”, all other attributes had a statistical influence on AHPs’ job preference. Preferences differed according to age, marital status and having dependent children. Conclusions: This study allowed the identification of factors that contribute to AHPs’ employment decisions about staying and working in a rural area. This information can improve job designs in rural areas to increase retention

Feasibility study for a numerical aerodynamic simulation facility. Volume 3: FMP language specification/user manual

The manual is intended to show the revisions and additions to the current STAR FORTRAN. The changes are made to incorporate an FMP (Flow Model Processor) for use in the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation Facility (NASF) for the purpose of simulating fluid flow over three-dimensional bodies in wind tunnel environments and in free space. The FORTRAN programming language for the STAR-100 computer contains both CDC and unique STAR extensions to the standard FORTRAN. Several of the STAR FORTRAN extensions to standard FOR-TRAN allow the FORTRAN user to exploit the vector processing capabilities of the STAR computer. In STAR FORTRAN, vectors can be expressed with an explicit notation, functions are provided that return vector results, and special call statements enable access to any machine instruction

Effect of Menstrual Cycle Phase and Sex on Carotid Artery Pulsatility in Healthy Young Adults

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Effects of augmented exercise therapy time after stroke: a meta-analysis

<p><b>Background and Purpose:</b> To present a systematic review of studies that addresses the effects of intensity of augmented exercise therapy time (AETT) on activities of daily living (ADL), walking, and dexterity in patients with stroke.</p> <p><b>Summary of Review:</b> A database of articles published from 1966 to November 2003 was compiled from MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PEDro, DARE, and PiCarta using combinations of the following key words: stroke, cerebrovascular disorders, physical therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, exercise therapy, rehabilitation, intensity, dose–response relationship, effectiveness, and randomized controlled trial. References presented in relevant publications were examined as well as abstracts in proceedings. Studies that satisfied the following selection criteria were included: (1) patients had a diagnosis of stroke; (2) effects of intensity of exercise training were investigated; and (3) design of the study was a randomized controlled trial (RCT). For each outcome measure, the estimated effect size (ES) and the summary effect size (SES) expressed in standard deviation units (SDU) were calculated for ADL, walking speed, and dexterity using fixed and random effect models. Correlation coefficients were calculated between observed individual effect sizes on ADL of each study, additional time spent on exercise training, and methodological quality. Cumulative meta-analyses (random effects model) adjusted for the difference in treatment intensity in each study was used for the trials evaluating the effects of AETT provided. Twenty of the 31 candidate studies, involving 2686 stroke patients, were included in the synthesis. The methodological quality ranged from 2 to 10 out of the maximum score of 14 points. The meta-analysis resulted in a small but statistically significant SES with regard to ADL measured at the end of the intervention phase. Further analysis showed a significant homogeneous SES for 17 studies that investigated effects of increased exercise intensity within the first 6 months after stroke. No significant SES was observed for the 3 studies conducted in the chronic phase. Cumulative meta-analysis strongly suggests that at least a 16-hour difference in treatment time between experimental and control groups provided in the first 6 months after stroke is needed to obtain significant differences in ADL. A significant SES supporting a higher intensity was also observed for instrumental ADL and walking speed, whereas no significant SES was found for dexterity.</p> <p><b>Conclusion:</b> The results of the present research synthesis support the hypothesis that augmented exercise therapy has a small but favorable effect on ADL, particularly if therapy input is augmented at least 16 hours within the first 6 months after stroke. This meta-analysis also suggests that clinically relevant treatment effects may be achieved on instrumental ADL and gait speed.</p&gt

Using art to assess environmental education outcomes

Construction of developmentally appropriate tools for assessing the environmental attitudes and awareness of young learners has proven to be challenging. Art-based assessments that encourage creativity and accommodate different modes of expression may be a particularly useful complement to conventional tools (e.g. surveys), but their efficacy and feasibility across diverse contexts has not been adequately explored. To examine the potential utility of integrating art into evaluations of environmental education outcomes, we adapted an existing drawing prompt and corresponding grading rubric to assess the environmental attitudes and awareness of children (ages 6–12) at summer camps in Athens, GA, USA (n = 285). We then compared children’s drawings with scores on a more typical survey instrument that measured similar outcomes, the Children Environmental Perception’s Scale. Results showed that a drawing prompt was a practical and unique learner-centered tool for measuring distinct components of environmental attitudes and awareness. Findings also revealed different response patterns across the two instruments, highlighting the value of using multiple approaches (e.g. art-based and survey-based) to assess cognitive and affective aspects of children’s environmental orientations

A Binary Millisecond Pulsar in Globular Cluster NGC6544

We report the detection of a new 3.06 ms binary pulsar in the globular cluster NGC6544 using a Fourier-domain ``acceleration'' search. With an implied companion mass of ~0.01 solar masses and an orbital period of only P_b~1.7 hours, it displays very similar orbital properties to many pulsars which are eclipsed by their companion winds. The orbital period is the second shortest of known binary pulsars after 47 Tuc R. The measured flux density of 1.3 +/- 0.4 mJy at 1332 MHz indicates that the pulsar is almost certainly the known steep-spectrum point source near the core of NGC6544.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letters on 11 October 2000, 5 page

Proper Motion of Water Masers Associated with IRAS 21391+5802: Bipolar Outflow and an AU-Scale Dusty Circumstellar Shell

We present VLBA observations of water maser emission associated with the star-forming region IRAS 21391+5802, which is embedded in a bright rimmed cometary globule in IC1396. The angular resolution of the maps is about 0.8 mas, corresponding to a spatial resolution of about 0.6 AU, at an estimated distance of 750 pc. Proper motions are derived for 10 maser features identified consistently over three epochs, which were separated by intervals of about one month. The masers appear in four groups, which are aligned linearly on the sky, roughly along a northeast-southwest direction, with a total separation of about 520 AU (about 0.7 arcseconds). The 3-D velocities of the masers have a maximum value of about 42 km/s (about 9 AU/yr). The average error on the derived proper motions is about 4 km/s. The overall pattern of proper motions is indicative of a bipolar outflow. Proper motions of the masers in a central cluster, with a projected extent of about 20 AU, show systematic deviations from a radial outflow. However, we find no evidence of Keplerian rotation, as has been claimed elsewhere. A nearly circular loop of masers lies near the middle of the cluster. The radius of this loop is 1 AU and the line-of-sight velocities of the masers in the loop are within 2 km/s of the systemic velocity of the region. These masers presumably exist at the radial distance where significant dust condensation occurs in the outflow emanating from the star.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. Version 2.12.00: Astrometric coordinates of maser revise

Discovery of Water Maser Emission in Five AGN and a Possible Correlation Between Water Maser and Nuclear 2-10 keV Luminosities

We report the discovery of water maser emission in five active galactic nuclei (AGN) with the 100-m Green Bank Telescope (GBT). The positions of the newly discovered masers, measured with the VLA, are consistent with the optical positions of the host nuclei to within 1 sigma (0.3 arcsec radio and 1.3 arcsec optical) and most likely mark the locations of the embedded central engines. The spectra of three sources, 2MASX J08362280+3327383, NGC 6264, and UGC 09618 NED02, display the characteristic spectral signature of emission from an edge-on accretion disk with maximum orbital velocity of ~700, ~800, and ~1300 km s^-1, respectively. We also present a GBT spectrum of a previously known source MRK 0034 and interpret the narrow Doppler components reported here as indirect evidence that the emission originates in an edge-on accretion disk with orbital velocity of ~500 km s^-1. We obtained a detection rate of 12 percent (5 out of 41) among Seyfert 2 and LINER systems with 10000 km s^-1 < v_sys < 15000 km s^-1. For the 30 nuclear water masers with available hard X-ray data, we report a possible relationship between unabsorbed X-ray luminosity (2-10 keV) and total isotropic water maser luminosity, L_{2-10} proportional to L_{H2O}^{0.5+-0.1}, consistent with the model proposed by Neufeld and Maloney in which X-ray irradiation and heating of molecular accretion disk gas by the central engine excites the maser emission.Comment: 16 pages, 5 tables, 3 figures, to appear in the November 10, 2006, v651n2 issue of the Astrophysical Journa