Airborne Hydrographic Surveying in the Canadian Arctic

In August 1985 Canadian Hydrographers broke new ground by being the first to use airborne laser scanning techniques to locate and survey shipping channels through parts of the Southern Route of the Northwest Passage. This survey was a landmark event in hydrographic surveying as it signaled the first time that an active airborne sensor was used for chartmaking purposes. Laser soundings were acquired in two of the highest priority areas and the processed results are being used in the compilation of a new nautical chart in the area. In 1986 the airborne team returned to this area to continue the sweep through the entire Southern Route

Driving Demand for the Quarterdeck: A Case Study

The Quarterdeck Beachside Villas and Grill is a small property that faces an all too common set of challenges, most of them stemming from steep seasonality. Located on Nova Scotia\u27s south shore, the Quarterdeck sells out during the summer months but is nearly empty during the winter. This case study examines the Quarterdeck\u27s marketing approach and outlines strategies for driving off-season demand by focusing specifically on identifying guests\u27 needs and desires to develop new product bundles and marketing communications. Although these ideas emerge from the Quarterdeck\u27s particular circumstances, the strategies are applicable to many small hospitality companies that face seasonal demand

Measurement of the KL meson lifetime with the KLOE detector

We present a measurement of the KL lifetime using the KLOE detector. From a sample of 4 x 10^8 KS KL pairs following the reaction e+ e- -> phi -> KS KL we select 15 x 10^6 KL -> p0 p0 p0 decays tagged by KS -> pi+ pi- events. From a fit of the proper time distribution we find tau_L = (50.92 +- 0.17{stat} +- 0.25{syst})$ ns. This is the most precise measurement of the KL lifetime performed to date.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figure

Search for baryon resonances up to 10 GeV mass produced in p+p->+mm with a resolution of +- 25 MeV

A simple magnet-less missiong-mass experiment is proposed to investigate the mass-spectrum of non-strange baryons of isospins 1/2 and 3/2 in the mass-range from 4 to 10GeV with a resolution of {+-}25 MeV or better. The spacing between baryons expected from the empirical interval rule {Delta}M{sup 2} = 1 BeV{sup 2} is 125 and 50 MeV for masses of 4 and 10 GeV respectively; if the rule holds, one expects 10{sup 2}-4{sup 2} = 84 resonances in this range. They plan to use the reaction p + p - p + MM and to detect the recoil protons in the region of the Jacobian peak. The protons of momenta from 400 to 850 MeV/c are selected by means of time-of-flight, range, and pulse height and are recorded in a pulse height analyzer. Since no magnets, wire planes, computers or any other major facilities are needed, the experiment can be done as soon as the beam, either full extracted (Option 1) or secondary diffracted (Option 2) or interla (Option 3) is available

EAN Guideline on Palliative Care of People with Severe, Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

Background and Purpose: Patients with severe, progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) have complex physical and psychosocial needs, typically over several years. Few treatment options are available to prevent or delay further clinical worsening in this population. The objective was to develop an evidence-based clinical practice guideline for the palliative care of patients with severe, progressive MS. Methods: This guideline was developed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation methodology. Formulation of the clinical questions was performed in the Patients–Intervention– Comparator–Outcome format, involving patients, carers and healthcare professionals (HPs). No uniform definition of severe MS exists: in this guideline, constant bilateral support required to walk 20m without resting (Expanded Disability Status Scale score >6.0) or higher disability is referred to. When evidence was lacking for this population, recommendations were formulated using indirect evidence or good practice statements were devised. Results: Ten clinical questions were formulated. They encompassed general and specialist palliative care, advance care planning, discussing with HPs the patient’s wish to hasten death, symptom management, multidisciplinary rehabilitation, interventions for caregivers and interventions for HPs. A total of 34 recommendations (33 weak, 1 strong) and seven good practice statements were devised. Conclusions: The provision of home-based palliative care (either general or specialist) is recommended with weak strength for patients with severe, progressive MS. Further research on the integration of palliative care and MS care is needed. Areas that currently lack evidence of efficacy in this population include advance care planning, the management of symptoms such as fatigue and mood problems, and interventions for caregivers and HPs

Biomedical imaging research opportunities workshop IV: A white paper

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134967/1/mp5838.pd

Patient and caregiver involvement in the formulation of guideline questions: findings from the European Academy of Neurology guideline on palliative care of people with severe multiple sclerosis

Background and purpose: Patient and public involvement in clinical practice guideline development is recommended to increase guideline trustworthiness and relevance. The aim was to engage multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and caregivers in the definition of the key questions to be answered in the European Academy of Neurology guideline on palliative care of people with severe MS. Methods: A mixed methods approach was used: an international online survey launched by the national MS societies of eight countries, after pilot testing/debriefing on 20 MS patients and 18 caregivers, focus group meetings of Italian and German MS patients and caregivers. Results: Of 1199 participants, 951 (79%) completed the whole online survey and 934 from seven countries were analysed: 751 (80%) were MS patients (74% women, mean age 46.1) and 183 (20%) were caregivers (36% spouses/partners, 72% women, mean age 47.4). Participants agreed/strongly agreed on inclusion of the nine pre-specified topics (from 89% for ‘advance care planning’ to 98% for ‘multidisciplinary rehabilitation’), and <5% replied ‘I prefer not to answer’ to any topic. There were 569 free comments: 182 (32%) on the pre-specified topics, 227 (40%) on additional topics (16 guideline-pertinent) and 160 (28%) on outcomes. Five focus group meetings (three of MS patients, two of caregivers, and overall 35 participants) corroborated the survey findings. In addition, they allowed an explanation of the guideline production process and the exploration of patient-important outcomes and of taxing issues. Conclusions: Multiple sclerosis patient and caregiver involvement was resource and time intensive, but rewarding. It was the key for the formulation of the 10 guideline questions and for the identification of patient-important outcomes

New Hybrid Properties of TiO2 Nanoparticles Surface Modified With Catecholate Type Ligands

Surface modification of nanocrystalline TiO2 particles (45 Å) with bidentate benzene derivatives (catechol, pyrogallol, and gallic acid) was found to alter optical properties of nanoparticles. The formation of the inner-sphere charge–transfer complexes results in a red shift of the semiconductor absorption compared to unmodified nanocrystallites. The binding structures were investigated by using FTIR spectroscopy. The investigated ligands have the optimal geometry for chelating surface Ti atoms, resulting in ring coordination complexes (catecholate type of binuclear bidentate binding–bridging) thus restoring in six-coordinated octahedral geometry of surface Ti atoms. From the Benesi–Hildebrand plot, the stability constants at pH 2 of the order 103 M−1 have been determined