8,840 research outputs found
Audit in practice : surveillance for hypoglycaemia in the neonatal paediatric intensive care unit
Hypoglycaemia in neonates is defined as a blood glucose ≤ 2.6 mmol/1. Certain categories of babies are at particularly high risk of developing hypoglycaemia in the first few days of life, and are routinely monitored in the Neonatal Paediatric Intensive Care Unit by reagent strips using a reflectance meter. This study shows that the current glucose meter, in use in the entire Department of Health, is unreliable in the detection of hypoglycaemia in neonates, but is accurate for values of blood glucose >3 mmol/1. For this reason, laboratory blood glucose estimation should be used for screening of neonatal hypoglycaemia until such time that a more reliable technique for bedside assay of blood glucose becomes available in the Neonatal Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.peer-reviewe
Fast computation of the Kohn-Sham susceptibility of large systems
For hybrid systems, such as molecules grafted onto solid surfaces, the
calculation of linear response in time dependent density functional theory is
slowed down by the need to calculate, in N^4 operations, the susceptibility of
N non interacting Kohn-Sham reference electrons. We show how this
susceptibility can be calculated N times faster within finite precision. By
itself or in combination with previous methods, this should facilitate the
calculation of TDDFT response and optical spectra of hybrid systems.Comment: submitted 25/1/200
Analysis of turbulence in fog episodes
Many processes interact in a complex and highly non-linear way during the life cycle of fog, the turbulent transport being among them. Observations and analysis of turbulence are, then, fundamental to our understanding of the physical mechanisms involved with fog formation, evolution and dissipation. Data gathered by fast-response sonic anemometers are processed using wavelet methods in order to estimate turbulence parameters such as kinetic energy or fluxes during the successive stages of fog evolution
A new route towards uniformly functionalized single-layer graphene
It is shown, by DFT calculations, that the uniform functionalization of upper
layer of graphite by hydrogen or fluorine does not change essentially its
bonding energy with the underlying layers, whereas the functionalization by
phenyl groups decreases the bonding energy by a factor of approximately ten.
This means that the functionalized monolayer in the latter case can be easily
separated by mild sonication. According to our computational results, such
layers can be cleaned up to pure graphene, as well as functionalized further up
to 25% coverage, without essential difficulties. The energy gap within the
interval from 0.5 to 3 eV can be obtained by such one-side funtionalization
using different chemical species.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, to appear in J. Phys. D: Applied Physic
Determination of the magnetic anisotropy axes of single-molecule magnets
Simple methods are presented allowing the determination of the magnetic
anisotropy axes of a crystal of a single-molecule magnet (SMM). These methods
are used to determine an upper bound of the easy axis tilts in a standard
Mn12-Ac crystal. The values obtained in the present study are significately
smaller than those reported in recent high frequency electron paramagnetic
resonance (HF-EPR) studies which suggest distributions of hard-axes tilts.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Ab initio vibrations in nonequilibrium nanowires
We review recent results on electronic and thermal transport in two different
quasi one-dimensional systems: Silicon nanowires (SiNW) and atomic gold chains.
For SiNW's we compute the ballistic electronic and thermal transport properties
on equal footing, allowing us to make quantitative predictions for the
thermoelectric properties, while for the atomic gold chains we evaluate
microscopically the damping of the vibrations, due to the coupling of the chain
atoms to the modes in the bulk contacts. Both approaches are based on a
combination of density-functional theory, and nonequilibrium Green's functions.Comment: 16 pages, to appear in Progress in Nonequilibrium Green's Functions
IV (PNGF4), Eds. M. Bonitz and K. Baltzer, Glasgow, August 200
Recommended from our members
Fostering an EU strategy for security sector reform in the Mediterranean: learning from Turkish and Palestinian police reform experiences
In the absence of an overarching strategy, Turkey and the Palestinian territories depict how the EU has adopted different approaches to security sector reform (SSR) which have not facilitated the consolidation of a common EU foreign policy, though the situation might soon change given respective SSR-related documents from the Council and Commission. This report contributes to the security sector debate by stressing that in conflict and post-conflict scenarios endurable SSR requires fomenting synergies between the police and judicial sectors and the inclusion of DDR, in tandem with the institutional implementation of transparent, accountable and democratic oversight mechanisms. There is an adamant need for constructive consistency when applying this central facet of EU foreign policy in the Mediterranean basin and beyond.
SSR is an emerging phenomenon in conflict, post-conflict and development scenarios that has acquired a prominent role within the policy agendas of key international actors. As a prelude to the two case studies, and in order to better understand the EU’s end goal, a brief analysis of the two pivotal European SSR documents is provided with particular emphasis on their contribution to develop a more coherent and effective EU presence in this field. More specific consideration is then given to the role played by SSR-related matters within the framework of two EU foreign policy mechanisms towards the Mediterranean: the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP), also known as the Barcelona Process, and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).
The two case studies - Turkey and the Palestinian territories - are exceptional due to the nature of their geopolitical position in regional and international politics. Both demonstrate different levels of state development and different degrees of monopoly over the legitimate use of force, which have contributed to the development of different EU approaches to SSR, tailored to the specific needs of the local context in which the Union is operating. Both cases also demonstrate how the EU emphasizes democracy or security depending on the respective circumstantial differences. Turkey exemplifies by and large the EU accession process of fulfilling democratic reform in return for EU membership. The Palestinian case illustrates how security demands precede democratic apertures. Together, both highlight the lack of a consistent and comprehensive EU SSR strategy, the lack of which continues to impede the emergence of a common EU foreign policy.
This study makes a set of recommendations for the two case studies, and concludes with more general ones applicable to the broader Euro-Mediterranean area. These are mainly addressed to the European Commission, Council of the EU (and thus, Member States) and European Parliament. Moreover, the conclusions and recommendations included in this report could inspire the work of various advocacy groups in the fields of SSR, conflict resolution and democracy and human rights promotion given that, based on the “human security” logic, this report departs from the assumption that police reform encapsulates both modernising and democratising processes
- …