4,391 research outputs found
In the name of freedom: autocracy, serfdom, and suicide in Russia
The 1828 suicide of Grigorii Miasnikov in the small provincial town of Arzamas proved so controversial that it came to the attention of Tsar Nicholas I. Drawing on extensive archival sources, this article explores the meanings of this suicide from the perspective of both its âauthorâ and its subsequent âaudiencesâ, including local authorities, the secret police and later memoirists and historians. The case study provides the basis for a broader investigation into the cultural, political, and social history of early-nineteenth-century Russia
Reliability of measuring thoracic kyphosis angle, lumbar lordosis angle and straight leg raise with an inclinometer
Licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution non-commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, providing that the work is properly citedPurpose: Several non-invasive measurement methods have been described in the literature for recording thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis and straight leg raise (SLR). However, attempts to quantify the reliability of the inclinometer in these measurements are scarce. In addition, existing reliability studies within the literature were found to use small sample sizes. The aim of this investigation was to examine the intra-rater reliability of the chief investigator (SM), in order to provide clinicians with data that will allow them to better measure sagittal spinal posture and SLR. A blinded test-retest design was performed to determine the intra-rater reliability of thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis and SLR when assessed using an Isomed inclinometer in normals. Methods. Thirty asymptomatic subjects were assessed on two occasions separated by a time interval of 1 hour to reduce investigator memory bias. Thoracic and lumbar measurements were recorded in a relaxed standing position using an inclinometer; SLR of the dominant leg was assessed with subjects in the supine position. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), 95% confidence intervals (CI), and standard errors of measurement (SEM) were analysed to determine measurement reliability. Results. The chief investigator demonstrated excellent intra-rater reliability in the measurements of thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis and SLR. ICC (2,3) values for all three variables exceeded the 0.90 threshold suggesting that the reliability of these measures are acceptable for clinical application. Conclusions. The inclinometer technique employed in this study to record thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis and SLR is a reliable measurement method.Peer reviewe
Tapered optical fibers as tools for probing magneto-optical trap characteristics
We present a novel technique for measuring the characteristics of a
magneto-optical trap for cold atoms by monitoring the spontaneous emission from
trapped atoms coupled into the guided mode of a tapered optical nanofiber. We
show that the nanofiber is highly sensitive to very small numbers of atoms
close to its surface. The size and shape of the MOT, determined by translating
the cold atom cloud across the tapered fiber, is in excellent agreement with
measurements obtained using the conventional method of fluorescence imaging
using a CCD camera. The coupling of atomic fluorescence into the tapered fiber
also allows us to monitor the loading and lifetime of the trap. The results are
compared to those achieved by focusing the MOT fluorescence onto a photodiode
and it was seen that the tapered fiber gives slightly longer loading and
lifetime measurements due to the sensitivity of the fiber, even when very few
atoms are present.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure
Determinants of Work Status Among Heads of Poor Families in the South
Increases in the incidence of working-age persons outside the labor force and poor female-headed families have focused national attention on that portion of the working-age poor who do not work. This study examines the role of selected demographic, family and family income variables on the work status (working versus nonworking) of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan heads of poor families in the South. The findings indicate that both age and receipt of public welfare in the previous year exert significant influences on working, regardless of residence. By residence, race is a more important predictor of work status in metropolitan than nonmetropolitan areas, while education plays a more important role in nonmetropolitan areas. Finally, these individual-level variables leave a substantial amount of variance in work status unexplained, suggesting the importance of structural explanations of work status among the poor in both metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas of the South
Copyright Takes to the Streets: Protecting Graffiti Under the Visual Artists Rights Act
Artists who choose the streets as their canvasâwhether to beautify neighborhoods, spark political protest, or merely mark their territoryâare faced with uncertainties when it comes to questions of copyright protection for their work. Prior to Castillo v. G&M Realty L.P., the rights granted to street artists had generally been uncharted territory. However, a verdict that pitted the rights of street artists against the rights of property owners finally gave street art the credibility many felt it long deserved. In Castillo, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recognized graffiti as a work of visual art, thus providing it copyright protection under the Visual Artists Rights Act (âVARAâ) of 1990. This decision reflected a broad change in the perception of unconventional art like graffiti, and it demonstrated the federal courtsâ intent on catching up with that change
A Music Industry Circuit Split: The De Minimis Exception in Digital Sampling
When hip-hop icon Biz Markie released his album âAll Samples Cleared!â he joked of the end of what was known as the âGolden Ageâ of digital sampling in the hip-hop and rap music industry. The Golden Age began in the late 1980s, and because there was no regulation of the practice, it was a period of musical enlightenment in which musicians could freely utilize digital sampling without legal repercussion. However, in 2005, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit handed down an opinion that sent shock waves across the music industry. In Bridgeport Music Inc. v. Dimension Films, the Sixth Circuit cracked down on digital sampling when it ruled that any use of a copyrighted sound recording amounted to copyright infringement, no matter the size of the sample taken. Although the opinion was staunchly criticized, it remained the only digital sampling case decided by the federal court of appeals for over ten years. Yet, in 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit formalized the divide when it held that the de minimis defenseâthe rule that a small amount of copying is permittedâdoes, in fact, apply to sound recordings. This opinion stands in direct opposition to the Bridgeport holding, thereby creating a circuit split on the issue of de minimis use of digital sampling. If this rift remains unresolved, it will continue to send a wave of unpredictability across the music industry that will both chill artistic creativity and stifle the judicial economy
Using adiabatic coupling techniques in atom-chip waveguide structures
Adiabatic techniques are well known tools in multi-level electron systems to
transfer population between different states with high fidelity. Recently it
has been realised that these ideas can also be used in ultra-cold atom systems
to achieve coherent manipulation of the atomic centre-of-mass states. Here we
present an investigation into a realistic setup using three atomic waveguides
created on top of an atom chip and show that such systems hold large potential
for the observation of adiabatic phenomena in experiments.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Physica Scripta for
the CEWQO2009 proceeding
The Effect of Historical Narratives and Flag Type
This research will examine the effect of mainstream or marginalized historical narratives and the Confederate or American flag on temporal distancing, patriotism, perception of injustice, and assimilationist national identity. We expect that participants exposed to marginalized narratives will indicate higher perceived distance, especially when exposed to the Confederate flag. We expect that participants exposed to mainstream narratives will be highest on blind patriotism, especially when exposed to the American flag. We expect that participants in the American flag marginalized narrative condition would perceive the most racism and would reject more assimilationist conceptions of national identity. For the dependent measures of patriotism, perception of injustice, and national identity, we expect to find differences within the Confederate flag condition according to the meaning participants associate with the Confederate flag. These results will help us understand how people may respond to threatening narratives, how flag exposure may impact that response, and how historical narratives or flags can be presented to increase social justice awareness
Pulsed extraction of ionization from helium buffer gas
The migration of intense ionization created in helium buffer gas under the
influence of applied electric fields is considered. First the chemical
evolution of the ionization created by fast heavy-ion beams is described.
Straight forward estimates of the lifetimes for charge exchange indicate a
clear suppression of charge exchange during ion migration in low pressure
helium. Then self-consistent calculations of the migration of the ions in the
electric field of a gas-filled cell at the National Superconducting Cyclotron
Laboratory (NSCL) using a Particle-In-Cell computer code are presented. The
results of the calculations are compared to measurements of the extracted ion
current caused by beam pulses injected into the NSCL gas cell.Comment: Accepted for pubilication in Nucl. Instrum. Meth. B, 14 pages, 8
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