466 research outputs found
Teaching design in emerging countries A train-the-trainer methodology
Design disciplines have constantly evolved to keep up with the emerging demands of the 21st Century. Design education is thus called to change its methods, tools and approaches. There is an increasing interest in emerging economies in design education, especially in India, where the role of creativity, communication and technology can support social and economic development. This paper aims to present the educational approach developed in the context of the Erasmus+ KA2 project entitled ‘Design and Innovation Capacity Building in India/DESINNO’. The modernisation and internationalisation of Indian universities with innovative and contemporary design courses have been the main goals of a set of research and training activities. In this paper, the state-of-the-art methodologies in design thinking, sustainability, design research, social innovation and ethical issues in design are presented, leading to a bespoke educational approach that provides a platform for Indian design academics to apply modern educational approaches
to their specificities and needs
Pain Distraction During Awake Major Colorectal Surgery: Supporting Patients Beyond the COVID-19 Era. Preliminary Findings
Introduction: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, hospitals rapidly ran out of intensive care beds. Because minimally invasive surgery and general anaesthesia are both aerosol-generating procedures, their use has become controversial. We report a case series of awake undelayable colorectal surgeries which, innovatively, took advantage of intraoperative pain distraction. Moreover, we describe our frugal solution to social distancing in psychological support of inpatients.
Methods: Between October 2020 and February 2021, five patients underwent acute-care colorectal surgery under locoregional anaesthesia in our department. A 3D mobile theatre (3DMT) was used during the operation to distract the patients from pain. Vital signs, pain intensity, ergonomic comfort/discomfort, sense of presence and distress were intraoperatively monitored. A postoperative “cuddle delivery” service was instituted: video messages from relatives and close friends were delivered daily to the patient through the 3DMT. Emotional effects were investigated through clinical interviews conducted by a psychologist at our hospital.
Results: Both intraoperative and postoperative pain were always well controlled. Conversion to general anaesthesia and postoperative intensive support/monitoring were never necessary. The “cuddle delivery” initiative helped patients fill the emotional gap created by the strict containment measures implemented inside the hospital, distracting them from emotional anxiety and physical pain.
Conclusions: During the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and even after the COVID-19 era, awake laparotomy under locoregional anaesthesia may be a crucial option for delivering acute-care surgery to selected patients when intensive care beds are unavailable and postponing surgery is unacceptable. We also introduce a new modality for the provision of emotional support during postoperative inpatient care as a countermeasure to the restrictions imposed by social distancing measures
Spectral decomposition of starbursts and AGNs in 5-8 micron Spitzer IRS spectra of local ULIRGs
We present an analysis of the 5-8 micron Spitzer-IRS spectra of a sample of
68 local Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs). Our diagnostic technique
allows a clear separation of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) and starburst
(SB) components in the observed mid-IR emission, and a simple analytic model
provides a quantitative estimate of the AGN/starburst contribution to the
bolometric luminosity. We show that AGNs are ~30 times brighter at 6 micron
than starbursts with the same bolometric luminosity, so that even faint AGNs
can be detected. Star formation events are confirmed as the dominant power
source for extreme infrared activity, since ~85% of ULIRG luminosity arises
from the SB component. Nonetheless an AGN is present in the majority (46/68) of
our sources.Comment: 5 Pages, 3 figures. MNRAS Letters, Accepte
Molecular Gas and Nuclear Activity in Radio Galaxies Detected by IRAS
This paper reports the latest results from a millimeter-wave (CO)
spectroscopic survey of IRAS-detected radio galaxies with L_1.4GHz ~ 10^23-28
W/Hz in the redshift range z ~ 0.02-0.15. The IRAS flux-limited sample contains
33 radio galaxies with different radio morphologies and a broad range of
infrared luminosities L_IR = 10^9-12 L_sun), allowing for an investigation of
(a) whether low-z radio-selected AGN reside in molecular gas-rich host galaxes,
and (b) whether the CO properties are correlated with the properties of the
host galaxy or the AGN. All of the radio galaxies in Mazzarella et al. (1993)
and Mirabel et al. (1989) have been reobserved. Three new CO detections have
been made, raising the total number of CO detections to nine and setting the
survey detection rate at ~ 25%. Many of the CO lines have double-peaked
profiles, and the CO line widths are broad (average Delta v_FWHM ~ 500+/-130
km/s), exceeding the average CO widths of both ultraluminous infrared galaxies
(300+/-90 km/s) and Palomar-Green QSOs (260+/-160 km/s), and thus being
indicative of massive host galaxies. The CO luminosities translate into
molecular gas masses of ~ 0.4-7x10^9 M_sun, however, the 3-sigma CO upper
limits for nondetections do not rule out a molecular gas mass as high as that
of the Milky Way (~ 3x10^9 M_sun). Optical images of eight out of nine
molecular gas-rich radio galaxies show evidence of close companions and/or
tidal features. Finally, there is no obvious correlation between radio power
and molecular gas mass. However, it is notable that only one F-R II galaxy out
of 12 is detected in this CO survey; the remaining detections are of galaxies
hosting F-R I and compact radio jets.Comment: LaTex, 33 pages, including 1 jpg figure and 14 postscript figures,
ApJS, in press (August 2005
Description and evaluation of GMXe: a new aerosol submodel for global simulations (v1)
We present a new aerosol microphysics and gas aerosol partitioning submodel (Global Modal-aerosol eXtension, GMXe) implemented within the ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry model (EMAC, version 1.8). The submodel is computationally efficient and is suitable for medium to long term simulations with global and regional models. The aerosol size distribution is treated using 7 log-normal modes and has the same microphysical core as the M7 submodel (Vignati et al., 2004). <br><br> The main developments in this work are: (i) the extension of the aerosol emission routines and the M7 microphysics, so that an increased (and variable) number of aerosol species can be treated (new species include sodium and chloride, and potentially magnesium, calcium, and potassium), (ii) the coupling of the aerosol microphysics to a choice of treatments of gas/aerosol partitioning to allow the treatment of semi-volatile aerosol, and, (iii) the implementation and evaluation of the developed submodel within the EMAC model of atmospheric chemistry. <br><br> Simulated concentrations of black carbon, particulate organic matter, dust, sea spray, sulfate and ammonium aerosol are shown to be in good agreement with observations (for all species at least 40% of modeled values are within a factor of 2 of the observations). The distribution of nitrate aerosol is compared to observations in both clean and polluted regions. Concentrations in polluted continental regions are simulated quite well, but there is a general tendency to overestimate nitrate, particularly in coastal regions (geometric mean of modelled values/geometric mean of observed data ≈2). In all regions considered more than 40% of nitrate concentrations are within a factor of two of the observations. Marine nitrate concentrations are well captured with 96% of modeled values within a factor of 2 of the observations
XMM-Newton Detection of a Compton-thick AGN in the 1-Jy ULIRG/LINER F04103-2838
We report on the detection of Fe Kalpha emission in F041032838, an
ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG; log[L/L] 12)
that is optically classified as a LINER. Previous {\it Chandra} observations
suggested the presence of both a starburst and an AGN in this source. A deeper
(20 ksec) {\it XMM-Newton} spectrum reveals an Fe Kalpha line at rest
frame energy 6.4 keV, consistent with cold neutral iron. The best-fit
spectral model indicates the Fe Kalpha line has an equivalent width of
1.6 keV. The hard X-ray emission is dominated by a Compton-thick AGN with
intrinsic 0.2--10 keV luminosity ergs s, while the soft
X-ray emission is from 0.1 keV gas attributed to the starburst. The X-ray
spectrum of this source bears a striking resemblance to that of the archetypal
luminous infrared galaxy NGC 6240 despite differences in merger state and
infrared properties.Comment: 23 pre-print pages including 5 figures and 1 table. Accepted by Ap
The [CII] 158 um Line Deficit in Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies Revisited
We present a study of the [CII] 157.74 um fine-structure line in a sample of
15 ultraluminous infrared (IR) galaxies (L_IR>10^12 Lsun; ULIRGs) using the
Long Wavelength Spectrometer (LWS) on the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). We
confirm the observed order of magnitude deficit (compared to normal and
starburst galaxies) in the strength of the [CII] line relative to the far-IR
dust continuum emission found in our initial report (Luhman et al. 1998), but
here with a sample that is twice as large. This result suggests that the
deficit is a general phenomenon affecting 4/5 ULIRGs. We present an analysis
using observations of generally acknowledged photodissociation region (PDR)
tracers ([CII], [OI] 63 and 145 um, and FIR continuum emission), which suggests
that a high UV flux G_o incident on a moderate density n PDR could explain the
deficit. However, comparisons with other ULIRG observations, including CO
(1-0), [CI] (1-0), and 6.2 um polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission,
suggest that high G_o/n PDRs alone cannot produce a self-consistent solution
that is compatible with all of the observations. We propose that non-PDR
contributions to the FIR continuum can explain the apparent [CII] deficiency.
Here, unusually high G_o and/or n physical conditions in ULIRGs as compared to
those in normal and starburst galaxies are not required to explain the [CII]
deficit. Dust-bounded photoionization regions, which generate much of the FIR
emission but do not contribute significant [CII] emission, offer one possible
physical origin for this additional non-PDR component. Such environments may
also contribute to the observed suppression of FIR fine-structure emission from
ionized gas and PAHs, as well as the warmer FIR colors found in ULIRGs. The
implications for observations at higher redshifts are also revisited.Comment: to be published in The Astrophysical Journal, 58 page
A Chandra Snapshot Survey of IR-bright LINERs: A Possible Link Between Star Formation, AGN Fueling, and Mass Accretion
We present results from a high resolution X-ray imaging study of nearby
LINERs observed by Chandra. This study complements and extends previous X-ray
studies of LINERs, focusing on the under-explored population of nearby
dust-enshrouded infrared-bright LINERs. The sample consists of 15 IR-bright
LINERs (L_FIR/L_B > 3), with distances that range from 11 to 26 Mpc. Combining
our sample with previous Chandra studies we find that ~ 51% (28/55) of the
LINERs display compact hard X-ray cores. The nuclear 2-10 keV luminosities of
the galaxies in this expanded sample range from ~ 2 X 10^38 ergs s^-1 to ~ 2 X
10^44 ergs s^-1. We find an intriguing trend in the Eddington ratio vs. L_FIR
and L_FIR/L_B for the AGN-LINERs in the expanded sample that extends over seven
orders of magnitude in L/L_Edd. This correlation may imply a link between black
hole growth, as measured by the Eddington ratio, and the star formation rate
(SFR), as measured by the far-IR luminosity and IR-brightness ratio. If the
far-IR luminosity is an indicator of the molecular gas content in our sample of
LINERs, our results may further indicate that the mass accretion rate scales
with the host galaxy's fuel supply. We discuss the potential implications of
our results in the framework of black hole growth and AGN fueling in low
luminosity AGN. (Abridged)Comment: Accepted for publication by ApJ 14 pages, 13 figure
Organic aerosol and global climate modelling: a review
The present paper reviews existing knowledge with regard to Organic Aerosol (OA) of importance for global climate modelling and defines critical gaps needed to reduce the involved uncertainties. All pieces required for the representation of OA in a global climate model are sketched out with special attention to Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA): The emission estimates of primary carbonaceous particles and SOA precursor gases are summarized. The up-to-date understanding of the chemical formation and transformation of condensable organic material is outlined. Knowledge on the hygroscopicity of OA and measurements of optical properties of the organic aerosol constituents are summarized. The mechanisms of interactions of OA with clouds and dry and wet removal processes parameterisations in global models are outlined. This information is synthesized to provide a continuous analysis of the flow from the emitted material to the atmosphere up to the point of the climate impact of the produced organic aerosol. The sources of uncertainties at each step of this process are highlighted as areas that require further studies
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