Reply to comment by T.J. Osborn and K. R. Briffa on "Mid-Latitude (30?-60?N) climatic warming inferred by combining borehole temperatures with surface air temperatures"

Journal ArticleWe thank Osborn and Briffa [2002] for their comment regarding our use of the climatic reconstruction of Overpeck et al. [1997]. We [Harris and Chapman, 2001] had taken a proxy, Arctic wide summer-weighted annual temperature reconstruction [Overpeck et al., 1997], given in dimensionless sigma units (i.e., normalized deviation from the 1901?1960 proxy mean in units of standard deviation of the new series for the period 1901?1960) and represented the reconstruction in our Figure 3 and Table 1 in terms of dimensional temperature units ?C

Geothermics and climate change: 1. Analysis of borehole temperatures with emphasis on resolving power

Journal ArticleTemperature-depth data from six boreholes in western Utah and nine boreholes in southeastern Utah are reanalyzed for evidence of ground surface temperature (GST) histories. We invert the temperature-depth data using the functional space inverse algorithm of Shen and Beck [1991, 1992] which we prefer over previous inversions of these data because of its greater sophistication and flexibility in suppressing noise. GST histories for western and southeastern Utah are generally consistent and suggest that temperatures in the mid-1800s are, on average, cooler than previous centuries, followed by about 0.6°C of warming in this century. Attention is given to the temporal resolution of our GST solutions showing the time-smearing effects of heat conduction on the solutions. GST solutions represent an average ground temperature over a time window that expands as we look farther into the past. The size of the time window is a function of measurement and geologic noise and limits the ultimate resolution of GST reconstructions

Geothermics and climate change: 2. Joint analysis of borehole temperature and meteorological data

Journal ArticleLong-period ground surface temperature variations contained in bore hole temperature-depth profiles form a complementary climate change record to high-frequency, but noisy surface air temperature (SAT) records at weather stations. We illustrate the benefits of jointly analyzing geothermal and meteorological data for two regions in Utah where both high-quality temperature-depth measurements and century long SAT records exist

Development of a plasma panel radiation detector: recent progress and key issues

A radiation detector based on plasma display panel technology, which is the principal component of plasma television displays is presented. Plasma Panel Sensor (PPS) technology is a variant of micropattern gas radiation detectors. The PPS is conceived as an array of sealed plasma discharge gas cells which can be used for fast response (O(5ns) per pixel), high spatial resolution detection (pixel pitch can be less than 100 micrometer) of ionizing and minimum ionizing particles. The PPS is assembled from non-reactive, intrinsically radiation-hard materials: glass substrates, metal electrodes and inert gas mixtures. We report on the PPS development program, including simulations and design and the first laboratory studies which demonstrate the usage of plasma display panels in measurements of cosmic ray muons, as well as the expansion of experimental results on the detection of betas from radioactive sources.Comment: presented at IEEE NSS 2011 (Barcelona

The Detection of Ionizing Radiation by Plasma Panel Sensors: Cosmic Muons, Ion Beams and Cancer Therapy

The plasma panel sensor is an ionizing photon and particle radiation detector derived from PDP technology with high gain and nanosecond response. Experimental results in detecting cosmic ray muons and beta particles from radioactive sources are described along with applications including high energy and nuclear physics, homeland security and cancer therapeuticsComment: Presented at SID Symposium, June 201

Role of Kindness in Cancer Care

The wonders of high-tech cancer care are best complemented by the humanity of high-touch care. Simple kindnesses can help to diffuse negative emotions that are associated with cancer diagnosis and treatment-and may even help to improve patients\u27 outcomes. On the basis of our experience in cancer care and research, we propose six types of kindness in cancer care: deep listening , whereby clinicians take the time to truly understand the needs and concerns of patients and their families; empathy for the patient with cancer, expressed by both individual clinicians and the care culture, that seeks to prevent avoidable suffering; generous acts of discretionary effort that go beyond what patients and families expect from a care team; timely care that is delivered by using a variety of tools and systems that reduce stress and anxiety; gentle honesty, whereby the truth is conveyed directly in well-chosen, guiding words; and support for family caregivers, whose physical and mental well-being are vital components of the care their loved ones receive. These mutually reinforcing manifestations of kindness-exhibited by self-aware clinicians who understand that how care is delivered matters-constitute a powerful and practical way to temper the emotional turmoil of cancer for patients, their families, and clinicians themselves

Plasma Panel Sensors for Particle and Beam Detection

The plasma panel sensor (PPS) is an inherently digital, high gain, novel variant of micropattern gas detectors inspired by many operational and fabrication principles common to plasma display panels (PDPs). The PPS is comprised of a dense array of small, plasma discharge, gas cells within a hermetically-sealed glass panel, and is assembled from non-reactive, intrinsically radiation-hard materials such as glass substrates, metal electrodes and mostly inert gas mixtures. We are developing the technology to fabricate these devices with very low mass and small thickness, using gas gaps of at least a few hundred micrometers. Our tests with these devices demonstrate a spatial resolution of about 1 mm. We intend to make PPS devices with much smaller cells and the potential for much finer position resolutions. Our PPS tests also show response times of several nanoseconds. We report here our results in detecting betas, cosmic-ray muons, and our first proton beam tests.Comment: 2012 IEEE NS