Generalizations of the Abstract Boundary singularity theorem

The Abstract Boundary singularity theorem was first proven by Ashley and Scott. It links the existence of incomplete causal geodesics in strongly causal, maximally extended spacetimes to the existence of Abstract Boundary essential singularities, i.e., non-removable singular boundary points. We give two generalizations of this theorem: the first to continuous causal curves and the distinguishing condition, the second to locally Lipschitz curves in manifolds such that no inextendible locally Lipschitz curve is totally imprisoned. To do this we extend generalized affine parameters from $C^1$ curves to locally Lipschitz curves.Comment: 24 page

Examining the potential for developing women-led solar PV enterprises in rural Myanmar

Access to electricity is limited in rural areas of Myanmar, where the majority of the population live. Myanmar's rich solar resource and the recent price drop in solar PV modules indicate initial suitability for rural solar electrification systems to meet the electricity demand. In many parts of Myanmar, women are responsible for supporting the family financially. The ability of rural women in Myanmar to take advantage of solar PV powered services to improve their lives depends on concurrent progress towards addressing the many dimensions of gender equality - empowerment, health, education, opportunity, voice, representation, and livelihood-in rural locations. This paper examines the barriers of solar PV applications and the potential for women led solar PV enterprise development in rural Myanmar. Although the entrepreneurial process is the same for men and women in theory, in practice different factors e.g. social/cultural, religion, economic and educational ultimately result in the disadvantaged status of women-led enterprises. Therefore, widespread and long-term eventuation of this potential in Myanmar depends on a government committed to renewable energy resources for rural electrification and to diligently and holistically addressing geographical, political, educational, financial, ethnic and technical barriers to the empowerment of a rural, female population

Representing time-dependent freezing behaviour in immersion mode ice nucleation

In order to understand the impact of ice formation in clouds, a quantitative understanding of ice nucleation is required, along with an accurate and efficient representation for use in cloud resolving models. Ice nucleation by atmospherically relevant particle types is complicated by interparticle variability in nucleating ability, as well as a stochastic, time-dependent, nature inherent to nucleation. Here we present a new and computationally efficient Framework for Reconciling Observable Stochastic Time-dependence (FROST) in immersion mode ice nucleation. This framework is underpinned by the finding that the temperature dependence of the nucleation-rate coefficient controls the residence-time and cooling-rate dependence of freezing. It is shown that this framework can be used to reconcile experimental data obtained on different timescales with different experimental systems, and it also provides a simple way of representing the complexities of ice nucleation in cloud resolving models. The routine testing and reporting of time-dependent behaviour in future experimental studies is recommended, along with the practice of presenting normalised data sets following the methods outlined here

Feasibility of Conducting a Web-Based Survey of Patient-Reported Outcomes and Rehabilitation Progress

Background: Web-based surveys provide an efficient means to track clinical outcomes over time without the use of clinician time for additional paperwork. Our purpose was to determine the feasibility of utilizing web-based surveys to capture rehabilitation compliance and clinical outcomes among postoperative orthopedic patients. The study hypotheses were that (a) recruitment rate would be high (\u3e 90%), (b) patients receiving surveys every two weeks would demonstrate higher response rates than patients that receive surveys every four weeks, and (c) response rates would decrease over time. Methods: The study design involved a longitudinal cohort. Surgical knee patients were recruited for study participation during their first post-operative visit (n = 59, 34.9 ± 12.0 years of age). Patients with Internet access, an available email address and willingness to participate were counter-balanced into groups to receive surveys either every two or four weeks for 24 weeks post-surgery. The surveys included questions related to rehabilitation and questions from standard patient-reported outcome measures. Outcome measures included recruitment rate (participants consented/patients approached), eligibility (participants with email/participants consented), willingness (willing participants/participants eligible), and response rate (percentage of surveys completed by willing participants). Results: Fifty-nine patients were approached regarding participation. Recruitment rate was 98% (n = 58). Eligibility was 95% (n = 55), and willingness was 91% (n = 50). The average response rate was 42% across both groups. There was no difference in the median response rates between the two-week (50%, range 0–100%) and four-week groups (33%, range 0–100%; p = 0.55). Conclusions: Although patients report being willing and able to participate in a web-based survey, response rates failed to exceed 50% in both the two-week and four-week groups. Furthermore, response rates began to decrease after the first three months postoperatively. Therefore, supplementary data collection procedures may be necessary to meet established research quality standards

X-ray detection with zinc-blende (cubic) GaN Schottky diodes

The room temperature X-ray responses as functions of time of two n type cubic GaN Schottky diodes (200 μm and 400 μm diameters) are reported. The current densities as functions of time for both diodes showed fast turn-on transients and increases in current density when illuminated with X-ray photons of energy up to 35 keV. The diodes were also electrically characterized: capacitance, implied depletion width and dark current measurements as functions of applied bias at room temperature are presented. At −5 V reverse bias, the capacitances of the diodes were measured to be (84.05 ± 0.01) pF and (121.67 ± 0.02) pF, respectively. At −5 V reverse bias, the dark current densities of the diodes were measured to be (347.2 ± 0.4) mA cm−2 and (189.0 ± 0.2) mA cm−2, respectively. The Schottky barrier heights of the devices (0.52 ± 0.07) eV and (0.63 ± 0.09) eV, respectively, were extracted from the forward dark current characteristics

Student experiences with a remote laboratory and the potential for capacity building in developing countries

Student experiences with a remote laboratory and the potential for capacity building in developing countrie

The development of a remote laboratory for distance learning and its impact on student learning

Currently, there is an increase drive in the development of remote laboratories to compliment and sometimes replace physical and virtual laboratories. This drive is fuelled by the impact on the pedagogy of distance learning caused by the rapid advancements in information and communication technologies, especially the internet. In this paper we outline the systematic approach used in the development of the Photovoltaic Remote Laboratory at Loughborough University, highlighting challenges and successes. We also evaluate the impact the remote lab has on student learning to contribute to the growing debat

Methodological overview of systematic reviews to establish the evidence base for emergency general surgery

BACKGROUND: The evidence for treatment decision‐making in emergency general surgery has not been summarized previously. The aim of this overview was to review the quantity and quality of systematic review evidence for the most common emergency surgical conditions. METHODS: Systematic reviews of the most common conditions requiring unplanned admission and treatment managed by general surgeons were eligible for inclusion. The Centre for Reviews and Dissemination databases were searched to April 2014. The number and type (randomized or non‐randomized) of included studies and patients were extracted and summarized. The total number of unique studies was recorded for each condition. The nature of the interventions (surgical, non‐surgical invasive or non‐invasive) was documented. The quality of reviews was assessed using the AMSTAR checklist. RESULTS: The 106 included reviews focused mainly on bowel conditions (42), appendicitis (40) and gallstone disease (17). Fifty‐one (48·1 per cent) included RCTs alone, 79 (74·5 per cent) included at least one RCT and 25 (23·6 per cent) summarized non‐randomized evidence alone. Reviews included 727 unique studies, of which 30·3 per cent were RCTs. Sixty‐five reviews compared different types of surgical intervention and 27 summarized trials of surgical versus non‐surgical interventions. Fifty‐seven reviews (53·8 per cent) were rated as low risk of bias. CONCLUSION: This overview of reviews highlights the need for more and better research in this field