Effects of fear of dental pain and information type on fear and pain responding during endodontic treatment

Fear of pain is an important factor within dental settings. Information is an effective method of enhancing predictability about aversive events during dental and medical procedures and can decrease fear and pain during treatment. Therefore, the effects of fear of dental pain and information type on fear and pain responding during endodontic treatment were examined. Experiment 1 included 268 undergraduate students to develop an informational videotape and a knowledge inventory designed to enhance predictability about root canal treatment and measure dental knowledge across 3 domains (oral hygiene, root canal procedure, and pain during root canal treatment). Results suggest that videotape information can enhance predictability; the knowledge inventory demonstrated the ability to detect content specific changes in dental knowledge. In Experiment 2, there were 104 endodontic patients from 2 clinics in West Virginia who viewed one of three informational videos prior to treatment; fear and pain behavior were recorded. Results from Experiment 1 were replicated in Experiment 2 using a clinical sample. Furthermore, results from Experiment 2 did not suggest differential effects of information type on fear and pain responding. Significant main effects of time emerged, indicating that fear and pain decreased after the procedure compared to any other time during treatment. These experiments demonstrate that although pain predictability can be enhanced using videotape information, endodontic patients may not be necessarily better served by receiving one type of information compared to another (e.g., procedure vs. pain-relevant) immediately prior to treatment. It is possible that the oral hygiene video functioned as a distraction from fear and pain and the information about pain sensitized patients to be vigilant of painful experiences, essentially offsetting potential positive fear and pain reduction effects of the pain information and overall negating differential effects. Due to methodological limitations, however, the possibility of distraction and sensitization will need to be addressed in future research. Clinically, these studies support the use of videotape information with root canal patients; practitioners should consider patient characteristics (e.g., fear of pain and anxiety sensitivity) when giving certain types of information

The core structure of presolar graphite onions

Of the ``presolar particles'' extracted from carbonaceous chondrite dissolution residues, i.e. of those particles which show isotopic evidence of solidification in the neighborhood of other stars prior to the origin of our solar system, one subset has an interesting concentric graphite-rim/graphene-core structure. We show here that single graphene sheet defects in the onion cores (e.g. cyclopentane loops) may be observable edge-on by HREM. This could allow a closer look at models for their formation, and in particular strengthen the possibility that growth of these assemblages proceeds atom-by-atom with the aid of such in-plane defects, under conditions of growth (e.g. radiation fluxes or grain temperature) which discourage the graphite layering that dominates subsequent formation of the rim.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figures, 11 refs, see also http://www.umsl.edu/~fraundor/isocore.htm

The United Kingdom smart meter rollout through an energy justice lens

The United Kingdom’s Smart Meter Implementation Programme (SMIP) creates the legal framework so that an in-home display unit and a smart gas and electricity meter can be installed in every household by the end of 2020. Intended to reduce household energy consumption, the SMIP is one of the world’s most complex smart meter rollouts. It is also proving to be a challenging one as a series of obstacles has characterised and potentially restricted implementation. This chapter first gives background to the most recent smart meter roll out developments in the UK and second, uses an energy justice framework to explore the emergent challenges under the titles of distributional justice, procedural justice and justice as recognition. Applying this framework to an analysis of the UK SMIP provides opportunities to accurately record, present and expose potential forthcoming injustices. In light of this, we offer a series of policy recommendations

The UK market for energy service contracts in 2014–2015

This paper provides an overview of the UK market for energy service contracts in 2014 and highlights the growing role of intermediaries. Using information from secondary literature and interviews, it identifies the businesses offering energy service contracts, the sectors and organisations that are purchasing those contracts, the types of contract that are available, the areas of market growth and the reasons for that growth. The paper finds that the UK market is relatively large, highly diverse, concentrated in particular sectors and types of site and overwhelmingly focused upon established technologies with high rates of return. A major driver is the emergence of procurement frameworks for energy service contracts in the public sector. These act as intermediaries between clients and contractors, thereby lowering transaction costs and facilitating learning. The market is struggling to become established in commercial offices, largely as a result of split incentives, and is unlikely to develop further in this sector without different business models, tenancy arrangements and policy initiatives. Overall, the paper concludes that energy service contracts can play an important role in the transition to a low-carbon economy, especially when supported by intermediaries, but their potential is still limited by high transaction costs

Who rebounds most? Estimating direct and indirect rebound effects for different UK socioeconomic groups

This study estimates the combined direct and indirect rebound effects from various types of energy efficiency improvement and behavioural change by UK households and explores how these effects vary with total expenditure. The methodology is based upon estimates of the expenditure elasticity and GHG intensity of 16 categories of goods and services, and allows for the capital cost and embodied emissions of the energy efficiency measures themselves. The study finds that rebound effects, in GHG terms, are modest (0-32%) for measures affecting domestic energy use, larger (25-65%) for measures affecting vehicle fuel use and very large (66-106%) for measures that reduce food waste. Furthermore, measures undertaken by low income households are associated with the largest rebound effects, with direct emissions forming a larger proportion of the total rebound effect for those households. Measures that are subsidised or affect highly taxed energy commodities may be less effective in reducing aggregate emissions. These findings highlight the importance of allowing for rebound effects within policy appraisals, as well as reinforcing the case for economy-wide carbon pricing. © 2014 Elsevier B.V

Chirality of wave functions for three coalescing levels

The coalescence of three levels has particular attractive features. Even though it may be difficult to realise such event in the laboratory (three additional real parameters must be adjusted), to take up the challenge seems worthwhile. In the same way as the chiral behaviour of a usual EP can give a direction on a line, the state vectors in the vicinity of an EP3 provide an orientation in the plane. The distinction between left and right handedness depends on the distribution of the widths of the three levels in the vicinity of the point of coalescence.Comment: Manuscript has been discussed in June 2007 with the experimental group under Professor Achim Richter at the TU Darmstadt. It has been presented at the 6th International Workshop on Pseudo Hermitian Hamiltonians, London, 16-18 July 2007. An expanded version is being prepared for publication. 3 Figures, 11 page

A systematic review of the energy and climate impacts of teleworking

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) increasingly enable employees to work from home and other locations (‘teleworking’). This study explores the extent to which teleworking reduces the need to travel to work and the consequent impacts on economy-wide energy consumption. Methods/Design: The paper provides a systematic review of the current state of knowledge of the energy impacts of teleworking. This includes the energy savings from reduced commuter travel and the indirect impacts on energy consumption associated with changes in non-work travel and home energy consumption. The aim is to identify the conditions under which teleworking leads to a net reduction in economy-wide energy consumption, and the circumstances where benefits may be outweighed by unintended impacts. The paper synthesises the results of 39 empirical studies, identified through a comprehensive search of 9,000 published articles. Review results/Synthesis: Twenty six of the 39 studies suggest that teleworking reduces energy use, and only eight studies suggest that teleworking increases, or has a neutral impact on energy use. However, differences in the methodology, scope and assumptions of the different studies make it difficult to estimate ‘average’ energy savings. The main source of savings is the reduced distance travelled for commuting, potentially with an additional contribution from lower office energy consumption. However, the more rigorous studies that include a wider range of impacts (e.g. non-work travel or home energy use) generally find smaller savings. Discussion: Despite the generally positive verdict on teleworking as an energy-saving practice, there are numerous uncertainties and ambiguities about its actual or potential benefits. These relate to the extent to which teleworking may lead to unpredictable increases in non-work travel and home energy use that may outweigh the gains from reduced work travel. The available evidence suggests that economy-wide energy savings are typically modest, and in many circumstances could be negative or non-existent

Fast readout algorithm for cylindrical beam position monitors providing good accuracy for particle bunches with large offsets

A simple, analytically correct algorithm is developed for calculating pencil beam coordinates using the signals from an ideal cylindrical particle beam position monitor (BPM) with four pickup electrodes (PUEs) of infinitesimal widths. The algorithm is then applied to simulations of realistic BPMs with finite width PUEs. Surprisingly small deviations are found. Simple empirically determined correction terms reduce the deviations even further. The algorithm is then used to study the impact of beam-size upon the precision of BPMs in the non-linear region. As an example of the data acquisition speed advantage, a FPGA-based BPM readout implementation of the new algorithm has been developed and characterized. Finally,the algorithm is tested with BPM data from the Cornell Preinjector.Comment: 21 pages, 17 figure