94,576 research outputs found
Biological Monitoring of the Capsule Mechanical Training Model During Assembly in the Sterilization Assembly Development Laboratory
Microbial burden sterilization assembly procedure development using rigorous monitoring progra
Feasibility and Acceptability of an English-as-a-Second Language Curriculum on Hepatitis B for Older Chinese American Immigrants
Asian immigrants to the U.S. have an increased prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection compared to native born individuals; an estimated 10 percent of Chinese immigrants are infected with HBV. Using qualitative data from focus groups, we developed an English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) curriculum that aimed to improve knowledge about key hepatitis B facts. The curriculum was pilot-tested among 56 students aged 50 and older from intermediate-level ESL classes at a community-based organization that serves Chinese immigrants. Post-curriculum data showed increases in knowledge that hepatitis B can cause liver cancer (73% at pre-test vs. 91% at post-test; p value = 0.01) and that individuals can be infected with hepatitis B for life (34% vs. 81%; p valu
Research on digital transducer principles. Volume 10 - Thin film titanium dioxide by chemical vapor deposition, 1 July - 31 December 1968
Thin film titanium dioxide by high temperature vapor depositio
A microcontroller system for investigating the catch effect: Functional electrical stimulation of the common peroneal nerve
Correction of drop foot in hemiplegic gait is achieved by electrical stimulation of the common peroneal nerve with a series of pulses at a fixed frequency. However, during normal gait, the electromyographic signals from the tibialis anterior muscle indicate that muscle force is not constant but varies during the swing phase. The application of double pulses for the correction of drop foot may enhance the gait by generating greater torque at the ankle and thereby increase the efficiency of the stimulation with reduced fatigue. A flexible controller has been designed around the Odstock Drop Foot Stimulator to deliver different profiles of pulses implementing doublets and optimum series. A peripheral interface controller (PIC) microcontroller with some external circuits has been designed and tested to accommodate six profiles. Preliminary results of the measurements from a normal subject seated in a multi-moment chair (an isometric torque measurement device) indicate that profiles containing doublets and optimum spaced pulses look favourable for clinical use
NASA JSC water monitor system: City of Houston field demonstration
A water quality monitoring system with on-line and real time operation similar to the function in a spacecraft was investigated. A system with the capability to determine conformance to future high effluent quality standards and to increase the potential for reclamation and reuse of water was designed. Although all system capabilities were not verified in the initial field trial, fully automated operation over a sustained period with only routine manual adjustments was accomplished. Two major points were demonstrated: (1) the water monitor system has great potential in water monitoring and/or process control applications; and (2) the water monitor system represents a vast improvement over conventional (grab sample) water monitoring techniques
Determinism and inevitability
In Freedom Evolves, Dan Dennett embarks on his second book-length attempt to lay to rest the deep metaphysical concerns that many philosophers have expressed about the possibility of human freedom.One of his main objectives in the earlier chapters of the book is to make determinism appear less threatening to our prospects for free agency than it has sometimes seemed, by attempting to show that a deterministic universe would not necessarily be a universe of which it could truly be said that everything that occurs in it is inevitable. In this paper, I want to consider Dennettās striking argument for this conclusion in some detail. I shall begin by suggesting that on its most natural interpretation, the argument is vulnerable to a serious objection. I shall then develop a second interpretation which is more promising than the first, but will argue that without placing more weight on etymological considerations than they can really bear, it can deliver, at best, only a significantly qualified version of the conclusion that Dennett is seeking. However, although I shall be arguing that his central argument fails, it is also part of the purpose of this paper to build on what I regard as some rather insightful and suggestive material which is developed by Dennett in the course of elaborating his views. His own development of these ideas is hampered, so I shall argue, by a framework for thinking about possibility that is too crude to accommodate the immense subtlety and complexity which is exhibited by the workings of the modal verb ācanā and its past tense form, ācouldā; and also, I believe, by the mistaken conviction, on Dennettās part, that any naturalistically respectable solution to the problem of free will would have to be of a compatibilist stripe. I shall attempt, in the second half of the paper, to explain what seems to me to be wrong with the framework, and to make some points about the functioning of ācanā and ācouldā, which I believe any adequate replacement for Dennettās framework must respect. Ironically, though, I shall argue that it is the rejection of Dennettās own framework which holds the key to understanding how to defend the spirit (if not the letter) of his thoughts about the invulnerability of our ordinary modal thinking to alleged threats from determinism
Finite Size Effects in the Anisotropic \lambda/4!(\phi^4_1 + \phi^4_2)_d Model
We consider the model on a
d-dimensional Euclidean space, where all but one of the coordinates are
unbounded. Translation invariance along the bounded coordinate, z, which lies
in the interval [0,L], is broken because of the boundary conditions (BC's)
chosen for the hyperplanes z=0 and z=L. Two different possibilities for these
BC's boundary conditions are considered: DD and NN, where D denotes Dirichlet
and N Newmann, respectively. The renormalization procedure up to one-loop order
is applied, obtaining two main results. The first is the fact that the
renormalization program requires the introduction of counterterms which are
surface interactions. The second one is that the tadpole graphs for DD and NN
have the same z dependent part in modulus but with opposite signs. We
investigate the relevance of this fact to the elimination of surface
divergences.Comment: 33 pages, 2 eps figure
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