672 research outputs found
A novel collaboratively designed robot to assist carers
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014. This paper presents a co-design process and an assisted navigation strategy that enables a novel assistive robot, Smart Hoist, to aid carers transferring non-ambulatory residents. Smart Hoist was codesigned with residents and carers at IRT Woonona residential care facility to ensure that the device can coexist in the facility, while providing assistance to carers with the primary aim of reducing lower back injuries, and improving the safety of carers and patients during transfers.The Smart Hoist is equipped with simple interfaces to capture user intention in order to provide assisted manoeuvring. Using the RGB-D sensor attached to the device, we propose a method of generating a repulsive force that can be combined with the motion controller’s output to allow for intuitive manoeuvring of the Smart Hoist, while negotiating with the environment.Extensive user trials were conducted on the premises of IRTWoonona residential care facility and feedback from end users confirm its intended purpose of intuitive behaviour, improved performance and ease of use
Radiative Neutralino Decay in Supersymmetric Models
The radiative decay Z2-> Z1 gamma proceeds at the one-loop level in the MSSM.
It can be the dominant decay mode for the second lightest neutralino Z2 in
certain regions of parameter space of supersymmetric models, where either a
dynamical and/or kinematic enhancement of the branching fraction occurs. We
perform an updated numerical study of this decay mode in both the minimal
supergravity model (mSUGRA) and in the more general MSSM framework. In mSUGRA,
the largest rates are found in the ``focus point'' region, where the mu
parameter becomes small, and the lightest neutralinos become higgsino-like; in
this case, radiative branching fraction can reach the 1% level. Our MSSM
analysis includes a scan over independent positive and negative gaugino masses.
We show branching fractions can reach the 10-100% level even for large values
of the parameter tan(beta). These regions of parameter space are realized in
supergravity models with non-universal gaugino masses. Measurement of the
radiative neutralino branching fraction may help pin down underlying parameters
of the fundamental supersymmetric model.Comment: 19 page JHEP file with 8 PS figures; previous version contained
figure misplacemen
Supersymmetric Higgs production in gluon fusion at next-to-leading order
The next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD corrections to the production and decay
rate of a Higgs boson are computed within the framework of the Minimal
Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The calculation is based on an effective
theory for light and intermediate mass Higgs bosons. We provide a Fortran
routine for the numerical evaluation of the coefficient function. For most of
the MSSM parameter space, the relative size of the NLO corrections is typically
of the order of 5% smaller than the Standard Model value. We exemplify the
numerical results for two scenarios: the benchmark point SPS1a, and a parameter
region where the gluon-Higgs coupling at leading order is very small due to a
cancellation of the squark and quark contributions.Comment: 27 pages, LaTeX, 31 embedded PostScript-files; v2: typos corrected,
reformatted in JHEP style; accepted for publication in JHE
Economic assessment of use of pond ash in pavements
The paper introduces a new type of industrial waste-based subbase material which can replace conventional subbase material (CSM) in pavement construction. Utilisation of this industrial waste, namely pond coal ash produced from a thermal power plant in road construction will help to reduce the disposal problem of this waste and also will help to reduce the problem of scarcity of CSM. Lime and fibre were also added to the pond ash at various percentages to improve the suitability of this type of mix as subbase material. The optimum service life of pavement is studied with the help of numerical modelling and the cost benefit is also presented in the current study. The study reveals that stabilisation of the coal ash with 2% lime may produce an optimal material and, even though a greater thickness may be required to deliver the same pavement performance, direct cost savings of around 10% may be achieved in addition to less easily quantifiable environmental benefits. Design charts are provided to exploit the findings
Quantum energy inequalities and local covariance II: Categorical formulation
We formulate Quantum Energy Inequalities (QEIs) in the framework of locally
covariant quantum field theory developed by Brunetti, Fredenhagen and Verch,
which is based on notions taken from category theory. This leads to a new
viewpoint on the QEIs, and also to the identification of a new structural
property of locally covariant quantum field theory, which we call Local
Physical Equivalence. Covariant formulations of the numerical range and
spectrum of locally covariant fields are given and investigated, and a new
algebra of fields is identified, in which fields are treated independently of
their realisation on particular spacetimes and manifestly covariant versions of
the functional calculus may be formulated.Comment: 27 pages, LaTeX. Further discussion added. Version to appear in
General Relativity and Gravitatio
Dynamic Front Transitions and Spiral-Vortex Nucleation
This is a study of front dynamics in reaction diffusion systems near
Nonequilibrium Ising-Bloch bifurcations. We find that the relation between
front velocity and perturbative factors, such as external fields and curvature,
is typically multivalued. This unusual form allows small perturbations to
induce dynamic transitions between counter-propagating fronts and nucleate
spiral vortices. We use these findings to propose explanations for a few
numerical and experimental observations including spiral breakup driven by
advective fields, and spot splitting
Like Sign Dilepton Signature for R-Parity Violating SUSY Search at the Tevatron Collider
The like sign dileptons provide the most promising signature for
superparticle search in a large category of -parity violating SUSY models.
We estimate the like sign dilepton signals at the Tevatron collider, predicted
by these models, over a wide region of the MSSM parameter space. One expects an
unambiguous signal upto a gluino mass of GeV ( GeV) with
the present (proposed) accumulated luminosity of .Comment: 12 page LaTeX file; 5 figures available upon request from the autho
A controlled evaluation of comprehensive geriatric assessment in the emergency department: the 'Emergency Frailty Unit'
Background: the ageing demographic means that increasing numbers of older people will be attending emergency departments (EDs). Little previous research has focused on the needs of older people in ED and there have been no evaluations of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) embedded within the ED setting.
Methods: a pre-post cohort study of the impact of embedding CGA within a large ED in the East Midlands, UK. The primary outcome was admission avoidance from the ED, with readmissions, length of stay and bed-day use as secondary outcomes.
Results: attendances to ED increased in older people over the study period, whereas the ED conversion rate fell from 69.6 to 61.2% in people aged 85+, and readmission rates in this group fell from 26.0% at 90 days to 19.9%. In-patient bed-day use increased slightly, as did the mean length of stay.
Discussion: it is possible to embed CGA within EDs, which is associated with improvements in operational outcomes
Effects of small surface tension in Hele-Shaw multifinger dynamics: an analytical and numerical study
We study the singular effects of vanishingly small surface tension on the
dynamics of finger competition in the Saffman-Taylor problem, using the
asymptotic techniques described in [S. Tanveer, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A
343, 155 (1993)]and [M. Siegel, and S. Tanveer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 419
(1996)] as well as direct numerical computation, following the numerical scheme
of [T. Hou, J. Lowengrub, and M. Shelley,J. Comp. Phys. 114, 312 (1994)]. We
demonstrate the dramatic effects of small surface tension on the late time
evolution of two-finger configurations with respect to exact (non-singular)
zero surface tension solutions. The effect is present even when the relevant
zero surface tension solution has asymptotic behavior consistent with selection
theory.Such singular effects therefore cannot be traced back to steady state
selection theory, and imply a drastic global change in the structure of
phase-space flow. They can be interpreted in the framework of a recently
introduced dynamical solvability scenario according to which surface tension
unfolds the structually unstable flow, restoring the hyperbolicity of
multifinger fixed points.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev
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